Hunting Tamarin
by abzbee
Summary: This is the story of Tamarin, a girl from England that moved to America with her fiancé, But when he dies and she meets a stranger in a motel mix-up she quickly learns of her future and who she really Some Innuendo and suggestive comments and Some swearing I don't own supernatural, and have no money, so don't sue!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**The Motel with a secret**

"_**Only a fool trips on what is behind him."**_

"Hello?" she said bringing her phone up to her ear. "Oh My God, Tammy. I... I..." Emma cried down the phone.

"Wow! Slow down Emma! What happened? Did you rip my dress or something? I told you not to try it on if you thought it wouldn't fit! Oh don't worry it's gonna be fine. I'll stitch it." She reassured her screaming friend. She hated the thought of Emma unhappy; she was the one who convinced Tammy to come to America in the first place... The one who convinced her to leave England with Vince, her fiancé. When she was 20 she met him and he captivated her. Within a week she was packed, ready to come to America and hadn't looked back since.

"No, no. You don't understand... I'm so sorry! Oh god, there's blood everywhere. Danny, hunny, stay away from the blood. Don't look!" she panicked. Tammy began to get scared.

"Blood? What blood, Emma? What happened? Do you need me to come and get you and Danny? Are you OK?" Tammy ran to the door and grabbed her keys. She had to get to Emma. And Danny. Oh Danny, thought Tammy, he's so little, even for a 10 year old.

"No, Tammy. I'm so, so sorry. It's Vince... He... He was hit on the road." Emma stuttered.

And that is how it happened... That's how Tammy's world came tumbling down. She froze. She heard Emma's words but they didn't get through to her. She was numbly aware of her mouth moving but she couldn't hear the words. Then she collapsed.

**2 Days After**

Beep. Beep. Beep.

She awoke to the sound of a heart monitor whirring and beeping beside her. A sharp pain in her left temple ripped through her tired state. Gripping her head she felt wires on the back of her right hand. Opening her eyes she was blinded by white light. After a few seconds her eyes adjusted and she caught sight of the mustard curtains, the cream walls, the eggshell sheets. A hospital. Beside her was a mirror. She looked into it but didn't recognise herself. Just a young woman, with Swedish blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. She saw a woman who hadn't just awoken, dazed and confused in a hospital bed. She tried to piece together how she got there. She remembered being in her and Vince's apartment, waiting for him to get home. Nothing else.

Ringing the assistance bell beside her she waited till a busy looking nurse ran in. "What? What do you want? I'm kinda busy!" she hurried bustling over to where Tammy sat, checking her vitals. "Oh, erm, yes. Sorry, but could you tell me how I got here... I can't remember. Am I ok? Am I ill?" she smiled in a frightened sort of way.

Her only reply was "DR WHITLEY! DR WHITLEY!" screeched into the quiet. A moment after a greying and tired looking man jogged in and smiled warmly when he caught sight of Tammy sitting there.

"Ah, you're awake! Jolly! Tell me, what do you remember my dear?" he grinned and grabbed her hand encouragingly. Taken aback, Tammy yanked her arm away only to return it when Dr Whitley gave her a confused look.

"Erm, I remember my apartment... I think...I think I was waiting for Vincent to get home from work... I think he was dropping of Emma first though, because it was well past 11... That's it." Dr Whitley and the nurse exchanged a sombre look. Oh god, thought Tammy, how long have I been asleep for?

"Now dear. You must understand in your condition you are very... delicate. And I need to tell you some quite stressful things. But you must try to remain calm, OK?" he patted her shoulder in a paternal way.

"What? Why? What happened? What's wrong with me?" she worried, only to get the reply of her heart monitor beeping angrily.

"Hey, hey!" Dr Whitley smiled. "Slow down there champ or you're gonna have a heart attack!" he joked and patted Tammy's shoulder when she gave a frightened look at his comment. He straightened up and gave a weary look to the nurse who departed quickly after. Taking the seat next to Tammy's bed he sighed and looked straight into her eyes.

"Your friend Emma called us about 2 days ago. She was at your apartment and she said she thought you had collapsed. After the ambulance collected you I began watching over you." He gave a small, sad smile. Tammy gave a small nod.

"I can see why you said it would be stressful, 2 days?" she questioned, incredulous.

"That's not the stressful part. Hunny you fainted because you received some very stressful news. You're fiancé... Vincent, I'm told... well he, he didn't make it. He was in a car accident and died on impact." He talked quickly, professionally.

Tammy's cries were heard throughout the entire ward.

**1 Year After**

Tammy awoke as sirens screeched nearby and jumped at the sound of her previously held whiskey spilling over the handbrake. Rushing to grab the bottle she dabbed at the moisture and stopped when her eyes met her wedding finger.

'It really is time to take it off' she thought, 'a year! And I'm still wearing the engagement ring when he's dead as a...' She felt her breath catch in her thought and dabbed at the wetness in her eye. It been months since she thought of him in that way... in the way that he wasn't there.

'I will take it off. Just not quite yet' she resolved and went back to cleaning up the spill. Outside she could hear the music from the apartment block beside her. She looked up at her warm inviting apartment, seeing Emma dusting down the furniture for her through the window.

'Not tonight'. Suddenly she put the keys back in the ignition, surprising herself. She was on the other side of town before she regained control over her actions.

'This is crazy! I'm drunk for God's sake! I'm not in any condition to drive.' She screamed inside of her own head as she pulled over quickly. She fell out of the car and coughed violently, her breath calming. She regained her balance and looked around her. It was an old, dingy motel. The windows were all either boarded up or had someone living within and the flashing neon "Vacancies" sign flickered eerily. Perfect! Catching sight of the lobby she was about to go in when she saw the man sitting behind the desk. He must have been around 40 and was reading a porn magazine, smoking as he drooled over the models. Looking in her car's wing mirror she saw she looked like a mess with her hair sticking out in so many directions, and her makeup smudged unpleasantly. Tammy was no idiot. Grabbing her makeup bag she applied a fresh coat of mascara and lip-gloss and brushed her hair with her comb. She knew if she flirted well enough, she could get a room for a fraction of the price. Locking her car she walked confidently up to the lobby and smiled warmly as the man straightened up and snuffed out his cigarette.

"Well hello there missy. Tell me, what can I do for ya'?" he chuckled to himself as he ran through scenarios in his head, all of which involved Tammy, naked, waist deep in a pool of whiskey. Tammy grinned and walked towards the counter.

"Hey there, listen I really need a room, and well I don't have any money on me. If I could just stay the night and I'll find a way to pay you back." Said Tammy, twirling round a strand of hair between her fingers. He laughed and then straightened his cap.

"Well I'm sure we can think of something. And what's your name darling'?" He looked up expectantly to where she stood. Tammy was about to speak but paused, not wanting to give her real name. She knew it was safe because it was just a first name but still she was apprehensive about such a... rough man knowing her first name.

"Mary" she smiled innocently, batting her eyelashes. He wrote it down in a messy scrawl in the guest book.

"Mary, huh? Like the bedtime story?" She furrowed her brow.

"Bedtime story?"

"Sure, y'know the one 'bout pregnant lady on a donkey goin' to an inn for the night and havin' her baby in, like, a barn or somet'." He winked.

"Wait. You mean the story of Jesus? Being born in Bethlehem? Guided by a heavenly star?" She was for a moment thrown off by his stupidity, even more so when she saw the crucifix on the wall behind him. Configuring her face back into a smile, Tammy laughed and said "yeah... In fact it's one of my favourites. But I'm _definitely_ not a virgin." With a mischievous wink. He giggled and managed to choke out between laughs "Room... 40... 42... ha" he said clutching his sides once she grabbed the keys from his outstretched hand.

She strutted out from the lobby, pleased with herself. Walking past the windows she got to her room 42. She took a deep breath, not sure what to expect.

Whatever she was expecting, it certainly wasn't this.

A man in a white suite stood before her, a knife raised in his left hand. He was handsome but had a gash which marred his looks, over his right eye and down his cheek. He stood braced for an attack, his other hand on a table beside him which held all kinds of gruesome surgical instruments, like something out of a dentist's office. Tammy gasped as she saw just behind him another man tied to a chair, coughing blood and sporting all manors of injuries. Despite the blood she could see he had a kind face and wide, caring blue eyes. His brown hair was ruffled and stuck to his head with dried blood. He looked around her age, maybe older and there was just something about him... Even covered in blood and in obvious pain he was grinning childishly at the blank expression on Tammy's face. Detaching herself from these thoughts Tammy looked at his body, his arms tied behind him and his legs tied to the legs of the chair. From the looks of it, he was being tortured. Tammy almost collapsed when she saw this but held her ground, her arms wrapped protectively around her handbag, one hand around the M.A.C.E within. She was about to scream but nothing, not even a squeak, escaped her lips. She doubted she still had the ability to talk or yell.

"Who are you?" the suited man asked in a rough Scottish accent, his words dripping with malice. He studied her face, trying to work out who she was.

"Erm... I think you got the wrong room." Tammy managed at an unusually high pitch. She began backing away but the suited man raised him arm to signal her to stop.

"No, come here!" he snarled. Tammy didn't understand why she obeyed. Maybe it was how drunk she was; maybe it was the sheer terror of the situation. Or maybe, just maybe, Tammy simply didn't car any more. Vince was still fresh in her mind. That's why she drank before she went home. She didn't want to hurt anymore, so she drowned her sorrows in cheap liquor. It was horrible but true.

The suited man pointed to the couch and waited till Tammy sat, then closed and bolted the door. No escape.

"Now, what's such a lovely petal as you doing in a place as this fine establishment? Who sent you? Was it Mitchell? Knew it, the rat! I'll skin 'im!"He laughed at the thought of the dismemberment of his old friend.

"No, I... Please. I just got the wrong room!" she begged.

"Let the girl go, Mac. She isn't any part of this!" the man tied to the chair demanded. He wasn't grinning anymore; he looked murderous now that he thought this poor girl was in danger.

"Ha! I don't think so!" The man called Mac said, grabbing the other man's chin and raking down his face with his surprisingly long, grotesque fingernails. Tammy stood and shouted.

"NO, stop it. Please!" she begged Mac. She couldn't understand why she was putting herself in the line of fire. For all she knew Mac could be the good guy!

"All in good time, my lovely" Mac snickered unpleasantly. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Mac... the good guy... and this is the baddie, Dallas!" he announced with a swipe of his knife lightly over Dallas's forearm. Dallas struggled against his bonds in an effort to break free, but to no avail. "And you are?"

Sitting again Tammy thought... "Mary... Mary Marston."

"HA! You think I'd fall for that? I'm an expert in body language love, and you deary are a liar!" He shouted. Tammy gasped. Damn. Seeing no more hope in keeping her identity a secret she frowned.

"Tamarin, like the monkey." She mumbled. She hated her name. Her mother had only been young when she became pregnant and just named her anything. Most thought it was a strange exotic name at first, despite her being from England. But it was unique, like Tammy herself.

"Hahahahahaha" Mac's body let go in spasms of laughter and he almost fell to his knees, but instead resorted to grabbing onto Dallas's shoulder for balance. Tammy took this opportunity to look for an escape. The bathroom probably had a window but it would likely be too small for her to fit through, despite her small frame. Besides she would only have a few seconds to move before Mac got to her and she didn't like the thought of leaving Dallas behind. Just then Dallas let out a low whistle and their eyes connected before he looked pointedly at the coffee table beside the couch Tammy was sat on. Then she saw it, a gun. She had never held a gun before. Growing up in England there was no reason to even own one without a licence. And she had been in America for 5 years and still the prospect of guns seemed idiotic. She'd never known anyone who owned one but still it frightened her. With a burst of adrenaline she reached for the pistol. She wasn't an idiot. She had seen the movies. She quickly flicked off the safety and aimed for Mac.

"Stop! Stop laughing or I swear I'll just shoot you in the head!" she called over Mac's chuckles. Seeing the gun his laughter dyed out and he stood stock still staring at the gun in Tammy's hands. He looked in her eyes.

"I can see you. I can see all about you. You're English, but that was obvious from your crisp accent. You have been here a while but you still consider yourself new. You have never been in such a scary situation and your surprising yourself by just how well you're handling it!" he assessed. She was shocked... He was right. About all of it, every bit.

"Who are you? Sherlock Holmes? If you've forgotten Mr Holmes I'm the one with the gun aimed at your head!" Tammy stared straight back, keeping a poker face. She looked at him once over then pointed at the knife with the gun, before returning aim to his head. "Now be a good little boy and drop the knife before I drop you!"

"Alright lassie, jeez!" he dropped the knife and then raised his hands, palms bared. She had studied psychology and body language in college. She knew he was deliberately showing he had no weapons. Dallas grinned through the pain to look up at her and then Mac.

"I like her!" he grinned.

"Good, now leave! Get out of here." She grinned, enjoying the look on Mac's face of surprise.

"Me? He's the bad guy!" he implored. "C'mon. Let me take him off your hands for a while!"

"It's his room" Tammy replied cooly. She wasn't messing around anymore. Sensing this Mac turned for the door and the, right before Tammy's eyes, disappeared. She almost dropped the gun in shock and her eyes were wide for a moment before a gruff cough from Dallas.

"Listen you're gonna have to get used to that, he does it a lot. He's very... eccentric to say the least. Hey, you listening? I can't get out of this on my own, honey!" Dallas said expectantly. Coming back to her senses Tammy ran round to his chair and was about to untie him but hesitated.

"You're not the bad guy right? Like that Mac character seemed like a bit of a dick but he could have been forced to extremes." She questioned.

"Ha, yeah right. I'm not the bad guy. At least not to you. I'm on your side!" he laughed, relaxing now the danger had subsided.

"I don't know... I mean this could have been anything, could 'a just been kinky sex gone wrong between you two." She thought aloud.

"Ha, you're kinda funny, y'know that?" he flashed a devilish grin. "Anyway, I could do better than him. You said so yourself, he's a dick. Now if I promise not to chop you up and wear your skin will you untie me?"

"Good enough for me." Tammy untied him and he rubbed his wrists. By the looks of it he had been tied up for hours, seeing how bloody and red his wrists were. Tammy rushed to the sink and removed the hankie from her pocket, running it under the cool faucet. She wandered over to him and passed it to his hands.

"Thanks." he gave a genuine smile.

"That looks really painful. Do you want me to get some ice from the ice box in the lobby?" Tammy offered.

"No, they'll be watching the room. Shame, It hurts like hell." He commented matter-of-factly.

"What?" Tammy was stunned. Ten minutes ago she was a drunken flirt. Now she was being stalked by some disappearing wizard, and she was surprised by just how okay she was with that. She looked at the gun on the table and grabbed it, putting the safety on and putting it safely on her waist, held in placed by her belt. She'd seen spies do it on TV and it just seemed like the right thing to do, to keep it safe and nearby.

Suddenly agony, red hot agony in her chest, above her heart. She screamed and screamed and screamed and gripped and her chest, praying for the pain to stop. It was like nothing ever before... she's been in a few minor accidents as a child but nothing a night is hospital couldn't fix. But this was new; this was searing into her very soul, ripping and slicing at her flesh. Looking down at herself she was shocked when she saw no blood, no knife, no nothing. Only Dallas looking at a loss above her, trying to help but confused by what was happening. Then it came to him; "Hex bag!" he ran around the motel room, upturning tables and pulling the cushions from the sofa. Finally he found the small brown bag in cupboard under the sink she had wet the handkerchief from. He ripped it from its hiding place, grabbed the lighter from his pocket and set it alight. At once, Tammy marvelled, the pain stopped.

"Clever, very, very clever Mac!" Dallas grinned. "Getting a hex bag on this poor girl without even using hair. You really are a slippery son of a bitch aren't you?"

"I thought you said it wasn't a gay thing, so how's he slippery?" Tammy coughed pulling herself onto her front and sitting up. Dallas rushed over to her and patted her on the back.

"How you doing, honey? That was some pretty powerful shit." He grinned and watched as she smirked.

"Funny. What was that?" she questioned.

"Hex bag. Yeah, Mac's a witch and a good one at that." He remarked, looking at the charred remains of the hex bag. He smiled thinking of something. "Tamarin? Like the monkey?"

"Yeah. But friends call me Tammy. My mum was young... besides. I thought Dallas was a girl's name." Tammy laughed.

"Hey, your Mom was young, mine was high. So Tammy, what brings you to this part of town?" he said, standing and going to grab two beers from the fridge. He had just enough time to stock up before Mac jumped him. 'And then I got saved by a girl... and girl named after a monkey at that.' He thought to himself, a smile playing on his lips.

"What's funny?" Tammy questioned seeing his expression.

"Oh nothing." Dallas grinned cheekily.

"Anyway," began Tammy, giving up. "I found a flyer for an orgy and well, here I am." She joked.

"Oh, didn't you get the memo? It's been moved to next Friday instead." He laughed, playing along.

"Damn." she said grabbing the beer from his hand and taking a sip. It was ice cold and lovely.

They sat there like that for around half an hour, just sipping on their beers and considering the recent events. Then Dallas stood up from the couch.

"Well I've lost a lot of blood so I should probably go take a shower and sew up these cuts. You'll be okay out here, right?" he mocked.

"Err." Tammy wondered how to answer, glancing to the window.

"Hey," he said leaning down to her. "I'll get the bad guys before they get you, okay? Promise. Just shout and I'll come running. If you're in danger, if you're scared or if you just want to see me naked." He teased standing up and walking to the bathroom, taking of his shirt on the way. Seeing him topless, Tammy was shocked... He was, well... buff. Like not steroids buff or 'daddy forces me to do sports' buff but he just looked like he took care of himself. Catching her staring, Dallas grinned.

"Like what you see?" he gestured to his abs.

"Don't flatter yourself. I prefer tall, skinny types."

"Hey I'm tall! Not sasquatch tall, but still." He muttered. He had had his father mocking him for a long time growing up, saying he wasn't gonna be tall. He hated his father for making him feel weak when he was younger. As soon as Dallas turned 18, 9 years ago, he packed up and left. His father had died when he was 12 so Dallas was left with the responsibility of his junkie mother and kid sister. At 18 when his sister was 15 he just couldn't bear it and left. He regretted leaving her. His sister was all that made him smile in his father's drinking days, the way she would make him laugh. It was sweet. Delta was everything but he was scared and didn't want any of his history. He didn't know where Delta was now, only that she would hate him if they ever met. She could be dead, but Dallas didn't like to think that way. Returning to the present he walked to the bathroom, closing the door securely behind him. He looked in the mirror and took of his clothes about to turn the shower on but instead reaching for the shaving foam and razor. He had done half his jaw when a scream came from the living area where Tammy was. Dropping everything he ran, butt naked, into the living area only to see Tammy wide eyed at the sight of him. He awkwardly tried to cover himself up and she covered her eyes, laughing, a rich cute sound that seemed to brighten the whole room. She felt like a school boy with a rude photograph.

"Erm listen Tammy, well I was just kidding about the whole seeing me naked thing. If you wanna like make out or something I guess I could fix something up. Hang on; I'll get my pants... There you can look now." He grinned and she sheepishly looked up at him, to see him wiping the remainder of the shaving foam from his chin with a tea cloth.

"Oh God, no! I didn't want to see you naked I swear! Oh god this is so embarrassing," she blushed scarlet. Dallas could see now just how pretty she really was. She was shorter than him, but not like a kid, just an average height girl. He was tall himself, taller than most. He'd only met 3 people taller than him in his whole life; His dad, a circus strong man and Sam Winchester. She had long blonde straight hair framing her face perfectly. Her sapphire eyes were eerily bright but he kind of liked them. They reminded him of Delta. She had green eyes but they were also strangely bright, even in the dark or in this case crummy motel lighting. Tammy had rosy red lips and a silly smile playing on them. She was thin, not unhealthy, just skinny. This also reminded him of Delta; she had always been small for her age, making him throw himself in front of Dad's punches for her all the time they were growing up. He felt very protective over Delta right up until he left. And somehow he felt just as protective over Tammy. But in a different way. He wasn't quite sure how to put it but he knew whatever it was, it wasn't good. He knew that caring for a person was dangerous, putting your trust in someone even more so. He only trusted 4 people in the world right now. Bobby, Dean and Sam Winchester and for some strange reason, Tammy. This strange little brave thing that just waltzed in here and saved his life. He had no idea why. But he knew she was deadly, anyone he cared about was. Like a weakness, someone he cared about could be used by anyone of his enemies to get him to do what they want. And if Mac got a hold on Tammy, hurt her at all, Dallas would never forgive himself. She composed herself and adopted a very serious expression, looking straight to Dallas. "You said witch... You said that Mac was a witch! But witches aren't real and even if they were they'd be old grumpy green women with warts, and cats, brooms and spells, cauldrons and black pointy hats, toads and..." she trailed off seeing Dallas' tired expression. It had been a long time since he had to explain all this to anyone; he was getting good at using people without telling them about what goes bump in the night. Walking over to her he sat across from her on one of the twin beds and thought for a moment about what to say.

"Here's the thing, honey. Witches are real, Mac is one of them and they don't all look like old women with warts and stuff. They look just like normal people. In fact and brace yourself, everything is real... Vampires, Werewolves, Demons, Shape shifters... Everything is real." He said on one breath and then waited expectantly for Tammy to throw something at him and scream that he was crazy. Seeing her blank expression he patted her shoulder and stood up about to walk towards the door. "I know it's a lot to take in. I'll give you a minute." He turned to leave and was surprised when he felt a warm hand around his red wrists, holding him back.

"No! No, I'm fine with all that. Just why is Mac targeting me if he could target you?" she wondered aloud.

"What?!" Dallas was shell shocked. She was fine with it... 'But how, is she a hunter? No, she didn't know what a witch was.' He thought in circles following her around like a lost puppy as she paced the living area floor.

"Because he could have killed you easily. I wouldn't have known what to do if you collapsed in pain. Called an ambulance I suppose. Unless it was a message. Of course, he must need you for something. Therefore when you told him to lay off when he was interrogating me he must have mistaken it for caring. So it was like blackmail. But he seemed really smart so how did he make a mistake as huge as that one." She thought quickly, playing back through everything in her mind for something she may have missed. Dallas was at a loss, just repeating 'how' as she went off to her deducing. It was like the roles were reversed. Every time he had dropped the bombshell before people had been completely beside themselves with confusion. All the while he would calculate a strategy about the hunt. But here she was. The exception that proved the rule. She didn't understand it and yet she was fine, in fact she was reeling off conclusions Dallas never would have even thought of.

"Ok, can I just stop you there? Coz' what you're doing, working all this stuff out, it's really hot." Dallas burst out, his mind turning on again. Tammy stopped pacing and smiled. She turned to him and was surprised to see his stunned face.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" she joked, half worrying there actually was something on her face.

"How are you not freaking out about this? I mean God... First time I met a nasty I was a wreck for a week. Wouldn't leave the house. I was terrified some ghoul would get me. The only thing I had any faith in was the salt on my windows and across my door." He grinned at the memory. He still slept with salt around but he was much more relaxed about the horrors of the world.

"Salt?" Tammy questioned, breaking Dallas of his thoughts.

"Huh, Oh yeah. Salt is powerful at warding off all kinds of stuff. Like ghosts, they can't cross lines of salt... neither can hell hounds now I think about it... boy, would that have helped me yesterday!" Dallas chuckled, thinking of hours before when he was trying to keep a hell hound off some old guy's back. Dallas didn't know why he found it funny, that old man had been ripped to shreds before his very eyes. One of those 'If you don't laugh, you'll cry' kinda moments.

"Well good luck with that but to answer your question... I don't know. I am kinda freaked. But it just doesn't really bother me that much. I mean I've always believed in ghosts and spirits and I believe in aliens..."

"Aliens don't exist. They're really fairies." He pointed out.

"What, really?" Tammy sighed, "That sucks. Anyway I don't really feel in danger. Maybe it's having you here. I mean you know all about this stuff so if I'm gonna have a witch on my tail you're kinda the safest place to be. The main point is I am scared. Which is more than I've ever been before. But I'm handling it." She sat down and rubbed her eyes in an exasperated way.

"Deep." Dallas remarked, barely containing his giggles.

"Piss off." Tammy also laughed, throwing a pillow at his head, almost causing him to fall over from trying to dodge it.

"Well you've had a long night. I better take you home." Dallas grinned, pulling his blood stained shirt over his head.

"Yeah I guess so." She smiled sadly; she was kind of enjoying this. They unlocked the door that Mac had previously bolted and Tammy followed Dallas to a grey car parked near Tammy's pickup. She was too tired and drunk to drive now, she'd come back in the morning to get it... if it was still there. She didn't really care. It was just an old car Vince's father left him when he died. Vince gave it to Tammy in his will. A crappy car really, and she wasn't sure she'd want to come back for it. Looking back to Dallas' car she was surprised by how much she liked it. It was really big but looked old. Tammy had no knowledge of cars whatsoever but she still could tell it was nice. Dallas caught her admiring it and stopped just before he unlocked it.

"Nice, ain't she?" he cooed.

"Erm yeah... It's nice for a... for a..." Tammy struggled.

"That, honey, is a 1989 Cadillac Brougham Sedan, and it's my baby. Scratch her and I'll kill you." He warned playfully but with a hint of seriousness. Tammy committed the car type to memory and proceeded to get in. The leather seats were soft and overall she felt happy. She didn't know why this car brought such a smile to her face. It was like home. Not home here. But home back in London, where she missed more than anything. It had been such a rash decision to come here with Vince and soon she was feeling homesick because of the car and just how much she loved it. She could tell why it was Dallas' baby.

"Where to, milady?" he smiled warmly.

"Y'know the church by the burger king?" Tammy smiled back at him. She couldn't be bothered directing him properly and everyone in town knew the church by the burger king.

"You live by there?" he asked disbelieving.

"Yeah, why?" her brow furrowed.

"I don't know. I just figured you for an uptown girl." His grin returned and he turned on the radio.

"Shut up." She laughed. She was loving this. With the radio on 'Carry on my wayward son' blared out of Dallas' open window. She rolled down her window too; it was a warm night. She smiled as this was actually one of her favourite songs. She took the pistol out of her jeans and put it in the glove compartment, amongst many mobile phones and even more scattered documents. They drove, neither saying a word as they neared the church. They were just about to turn into the car park when...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Under Protection**

"_**I can see beauty where others see ugliness, that either makes me an artist, or a person of very poor taste."**_

White light. Bright white light. Then orange light. Then red. Heat. Supreme heat. Tammy screamed, no idea of what was going on. The light and the dust cleared and they saw it. Or didn't see it would be more accurate. "_Shit!"_ shouted Dallas. The apartment that they had been parked outside only moments before was gone. All of Tammy's life, all her work, all her memories, Emma and Danny who had been staying with her, were gone. Everything was gone. Tammy was horrified. Her brain whirred back into action as she saw Mac, smiling at her from just in front of the pile of rubble that was once her house, his thumb on a red button in his hand, waving to them with the other.

"Drive!" she commanded to Dallas on her left. Her voice, how full of terror it was, was like and electrical current jolting him into action. He threw the Cadillac into reverse just as Mac pulled out a pistol and began firing shots towards them. He hit the back window but luckily, nothing else as they sped away. When they were out of town their breaths returned and they had calmed down. The radio was still blaring, now playing repeats of earlier on. Tammy's window was open and she was looking wistfully out of the window to the corn field on their right. Just as 'Carry on my wayward son' began Dallas turned it off and cleared his throat.

"Tammy... Tammy?" he repeated louder. Still nothing from her. "Listen. I need you to be safe. I'm gonna take you to a friend's house in South Dakota. I use the term friend loosely, last time I saw him, he aimed for my head." He remembered. Despite this, he still trusted Bobby Singer with his life. Dallas was being a bit of a dick when Bobby tried to shoot him. Besides, with Tammy, Bobby would at least wait for an explanation before the bullet hit Dallas' head. Having ignored that Tammy just dialled the number and pulled up her mobile to her ear again, waiting for a response.

"Who're you calling? No, honey. Not again. You've already called her five times since town. You know what happened. You know you can't reach her." He said gently. She was trying to call Emma.

"Yeah well," Tammy spoke determinedly, even when her voice shook. "I can't just stop trying now can I? I'll get through to her, I will... I've got to." She replied, trying to convince herself as well as Dallas. Just then Dallas' phone rang from inside the glove compartment. Recognizing the tone he indicated to the glove compartment as Tammy opened it.

"The red one." he voiced as Tammy rifled through the many mobiles. Grabbing the red one just in time she flipped it open.

"Hello?" she muttered to the other end.

"Hello? Who is this? Where is Dallas?!" A deep voice questioned angrily. Hearing the voice from the other end Dallas pulled over abruptly and snatched the phone from Tammy. He hopped out the car and pulled the mobile to his ear.

"Dean? Dude, the hell?" he complained.

"Who was the chick?" laughed Dean, relieved to hear Dallas was ok but intrigued by the girl.

"No one." Dallas replied, like an angry teenage girl would when her father asked her who was texting her.

"Son of a bitch! Nice man, she sounded hot." He said with a roar of laughter.

"Dean, you called me. What do you want?" Dallas was getting annoyed.

"Where are you? Cas needs to see you apparently... something about destiny or some weird shit. I didn't really listen. But he's keeping an eye on some other stuff too, on a case for us. Kinda busy I think. Anyway he can't be assed finding you. " He admitted, cracking open another cold one and taking a sip.

"I don't know. A corn field. Tell Cas I'll meet him at Bobby's. We're not far now." He remarked, about to get back into the Cadillac when Dean carried on.

"Wait a minute. 'We'? Who are we? That girl? Man we've talked about this!" Dean was sounding pissed now. He knew what someone to care for meant. It meant weakness.

"Dude. Not now." Said Dallas, raking his hand down his face and willing for Dean to go away.

"Fine! But if she gets ganked on your watch don't come crying to me!" He shouted only to get the reply of a dead line. "Son of a bitch! He hung up on me!" complained Dean into the silent motel room, still waiting patiently for Sammy's return with pie.

"Who was that?" questioned Tammy as Dallas crawled back into the car.

"No one." Muttered Dallas angrily.

"Funny. They sure shouted a lot for a nobody." she snorted.

"I told you about my friend whose house I'm taking you to. Yeah well he's Bobby and he's a friend of the Winchester's who are intern a friend of an angel who needs to speak to me. It was Dean on the phone." He said in one breath, willing for a change of subject.

"Dean?" Tammy inquired timidly, sensing he was getting angry with the conversation.

"Dean Winchester, brother of Sam Winchester, friend of Castiel, angel of the lord. Cas is kind of a dick in my eyes but he's apparently got Sam and Dean out of some pretty tight spots." Dallas tried to keep calm but he really didn't like this subject. He hated enough that he had to ask Bobby to care for Tammy for a while, and now the angel needed his help? It was gonna be like a family reunion.

"An angel? Wow. I know you said about demons and stuff but angels? That's crazy... Wait, does this mean... Does this mean God is real?" she pondered, her mind casting back to all the times she'd ever lied or cheated or stolen or generally done anything against the 10 commandments.

"Oh he's real alright. From the way I hear it, real annoying." Remarked Dallas. "Now let's drop it. We'll be at Bobby's in an hour or two and I can't be assed thinking about it all right now, okay? Just drop it."

"Okay." She quickly registered that she had just majorly pissed him off. Great. 'Can't do anything right, can I?' she thought as she bit her lip. This was getting weird. She knew some pretty serious stuff must have happened for Dallas to hate talking about them like that. She just looked down sadly and her hands, cupped in her lap. She was so confused. Seeing her like this Dallas immediately regretted saying all that.

"Shit, Tammy. I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap. Just..." he was cut off by Tammy.

"No, it's fine. It's personal. I get it. Don't worry, really!" she smiled reassuring him but was secretly pleased he wasn't too angry with her.

"No, it's not. It's not fine. I am sorry. I shouldn't have snapped. Just, well they're kinda family to me and family is always a sensitive subject. I'll tell you anything you want to know, and I promise I won't get mad. I might cry," he grinned childishly "But I won't get mad." He smiled over to her to see her smile back. She then looked out the window, the wind whipping her face and sending her hair in all manner of directions. She was delighted Dallas wasn't mad and decided to start out small.

"Erm ok, gimme a sec... Got it. What is Bobby like?" she wondered aloud. Dallas sounded least angry when talking about Bobby so she gave it a shot, hoping it wasn't a sensitive topic. To her surprise, Dallas smiled in a fond way.

"Ha. Bobby. Bobby's great. I mean he was before he tried to shoot me. Well, I don't think he was aiming to kill. Just to maim or cause unimaginable pain. Anyway I did a dick thing and he was right to try and kill me. I would have done it myself if I was in the right state of mind. Anyway, Bobby has been kind of like an uncle to me I guess. Not as much as he has been to the Winchester's but an uncle none the less. Certainly a mentor. Taught me all I know about hunting." Seeing the blank expression on Tammy's face he was quick to explain. "A hunter... I hunt the bad things in the world. The monsters. Anyway Bobby's kind of an expert. He's a good man. Says 'Idjit' and 'balls' a lot." Dallas laughed. He felt an urge to mention Bobby's love of pedicures and 'Tori & Dean' but fought the temptation. "Anyway. Enough about Bobby. Let's talk about you."

"Who are you, my psychiatrist?" Tammy giggled.

"Depends on how traumatic your story is. Golden star if you can make me cry." He said with mock seriousness.

"There isn't much to tell really. I'm a psychologist, I guess a bit like Mac. I was born in England, near a place called Liverpool. Have you heard of it? Anyway, I suppose it's like a downsized London really. My mum was young and Dad, a violent drunk, so we split. I've never met him. I'm kind of proud of her. She was young and decided to take the lunge and raise a kid on her own. Anyway when I finished University I moved to London. I met Vince, then..." she was about to continue when Dallas tapped her arm to bring her out of her story and into the real world.

"Vince? Who's Vince?" he pondered. Tammy looked sadly out the window as Dallas realised he's struck a nerve.

"Vincent. Erm yeah... Vince is... was my fiancé. I met him when I was 20 and within a few weeks we were engaged and I was packed for here. That was, I think 5 years ago. A year ago he was hit by a car. He died. Since then Emma and her son have been keeping an eye on me." She recited, her voice devoid of all expression and emotion. Dallas felt awful for asking. He regretted ever opening his mouth.

"Sorry for bringing it up, really. He sounded like a great guy." He tried to make up for the private questions.

"Yeah. He was. But, y'know what? I didn't realise it but it was... it was boring. Vince never took risks. He was safe. He was careful. He was mild. But I loved him. Kind of boring, I'm still trying to decide if that's in a good way or what." Said Tammy fondly. 'Safe, mild, boring, careful, loved.' thought Dallas angrily. 'Everything I'm not.' They sat there in silence for a while longer, both enjoying the others company.

"Now that you're speaking again, are you alright? I mean, you did just lose a lifetime of junk and well. And Em and Dan." He bypassed there full names, hoping to end the sentence as soon as possible. Tammy sighed.

"I'm ok. And that scares me. I've just lost everything and I'm fine. Does that make me a psychopath?" she worried, seeking some reassurance from Dallas.

"No. It makes you numb." He knew it. The same had happened to him. Throughout his entire childhood he was numb. Wouldn't feel a thing, wouldn't let anyone in.

"How'd you know?" she questioned.

"Coz' I'm speaking from experience." He smiled sadly. "But hey, chin up!" he grinned. "You've still got me!" he waggled his eyebrows. She laughed until she was clutching her sides.

"Amen to that!" she stuttered between chuckles. Dallas flicked on the radio, only to immediately switch it off again as soon as the Bruno Mars started blurring through the speakers. "What? I like Bruno Mars!" Tammy questioned as her chuckles died out and she was just left with a childish grin plastered across her face.

"Ah ah. Driver picks the noise. Passenger respects his wishes or walks." He reminded her.

"That's bull." She complained angrily, but instead appeared sarcastic due to the ghost of a smile still apparent on her lips.

"Shut up, we're almost at Bobby's. Now that I think about it I probably should have given him some warning. Oh well, too late now." Dallas remarked, turning into a parking spot amidst the sea of cars surrounding Bobby's home. Seeing Dean's Impala Dallas pulled up behind it and got out, Tammy following suit. Approaching the door Dallas was about to knock as Tammy quickly smoothed out her clothes when a suddenly Dallas was staring down the barrel of a shotgun, aimed between his eyes. Tammy gasped and Bobby's stony expression faltered seeing her, but quickly recovered staring right at Dallas.

"You! What are you doing at my house?" Bobby demanded.

"Bobby!" Dallas grinned timidly. He doubted he would shoot but didn't want to run the risk of scaring Tammy anymore so he looked Bobby dead in the eye and attempted to appear sincere. "We were just in the neighbourhood and thought we'd drop in."

"If you don't want your head blown off boy, I suggest you stop lying through your teeth! Who's 'we'?" he studied Tammy furiously. She looked terrified, pale as a sheet.

"Yes... this," Dallas smiled, backing away slowly and gently laying his hands on Tammy's shoulders, steering her towards where Bobby stood. He wasn't deliberately using her as a human shield but he needed Bobby to understand, and this was the quickest way of doing it. "Is Tamarin or Tammy if you prefer." Dallas looked down at his feet, ashamed of himself. "Bobby... I fucked up. Badly. I got my ass kicked and she is the only reason I'm alive. I put her in danger and I can't excuse myself for that. I need to gank the son of a bitch that did this and then she can go back to her life. Or what's left of it. But I need you to hold on to her for a while first. Please. I did this. Please." He pleaded, praying for Bobby to understand, or for him to at least lower the shotgun. Just then, the deep voice from the phone came from inside the house.

"Bobby? Bobby! What the hell?" Dean shouted, rising in volume when he saw Bobby had the gun aimed at Tammy. Bobby immediately lowered the shotgun and Dallas relaxed, breathing out onto the back on Tammy's neck, causing Goosebumps. He rested his forehead on her head, making her the perfect height for Dallas to rest his head. Tammy realised she had been holding her breath for a while and exhaled, taking in a big breath and slumping her shoulders. Dean took the shotgun from Bobby and looked at him expectantly, replacing the shotgun back on the hat rack. "Wanna explain to me why you're aiming for some random chick?"

"Dean. Lay off. It's my fault." Remarked Dallas. Spotting him there Dean pulled him into a bear hug, squashing Tammy between them. She let out a squeak and Dean backed away for a second to get a full look at her.

"And who is this lovely lady?" Dean winked. Now Tammy knew who Dallas got his attitude off. Dallas rolled his eyes and squeezed her shoulders.

"This is Tammy. Tammy this is Dean." Dean put out a hand for Tammy to shake, then kissed the back of her hand and smiled when she blushed.

"Why hello, Tammy. Mmmmm. Tammy. Is that, what Amazonian?" he took a wild stab in the dark.

"I suppose you could say it's monkey." She sighed, regretting her name even more so. At her remark Dallas grinned down at her.

"Ahem." Coughed Bobby from the doorway. They all turned their attentions back to him as he took Tammy's hand and shook it. "Bobby. Sorry 'bout the whole gun thing. If it's any consolation it's not loaded with shells, just rock salt." He tried to reassure her. But Tammy was alright. She was delighted that Dean and Bobby had taken to her. 2 down, 2 to go. Bobby gestured for them all to come in, but reached to give Dallas a hug first, which Tammy nimbly managed to jump out of the way of. "I'm angry, but I'm glad you're alright. Ya' Idjit." He smiled. Released from his hug Dallas walked in behind Dean, Tammy following behind Dallas as Bobby stayed to close the door. Walking into the main room Tammy was surprised. The whole house appeared to be covered in a layer of dust and books. Stray jars full of unpleasant ingredients littered on shelves and atop towers of books. A man with black hair and a trench coat stood up to greet Dallas.

"Cas! Hey bud. Hey this is..." he smiled gesturing to Tammy when Cas began backing away, an accusing look pinning Tammy to the spot.

"You!" he looked, wide eyed at her. He didn't look happy to see Dallas anymore. He looked petrified. He backed up as far as he could before bumping into the desk behind him. He looked so scared Tammy couldn't bear it. Dean pushed past her.

"Cas?" He stretched out an arm to the stricken angel who disappeared with the sound of fluttering wings, similar to how Mac had only hours before. Dean cussed under his breath before turning around angrily to Tammy, whipping out a silver dagger and waving it at her. Dallas stepped protectively in front of her, trying to shield her from Dean's line of sight.

"Dean, she's human. I swear." Dallas almost snarled. Tammy was frightened by how suddenly the atmosphere had changed. Only moments ago it was one of reunion, now only accusation.

"Then why did Cas turn tail and run, huh?" he continued forward, brandishing the dagger still.

"I don't know! But you are not laying a _finger_ on her! Do you understand?" he growled.

"I'm just gonna test!" Shouted Dean, looking angrier by the minute.

"No you won't!" Dallas rushed forward and barged into Dean, grabbing the dagger from his hand and throwing Dean onto the floor, his head narrowly missing the edge of the desk. "I will!" he bellowed, his voice full of authority. He turned round and cupped Tammy's hands in his, looking into her terrified eyes, all anger gone, replaced with soft words and a caring smile. "I'm just gonna test something okay?"He talked slowly and sweetly. He smiled, placing a hand on her cheek.

"Will it hurt?" she panicked suddenly. He smiled at her and then adopted a serious expression.

"Yes. A lot. Nothing you can't handle, I'm sure." He lied. She gasped.

"As much as the hex bag?" she began breathing heavily.

"Yes I'm afraid. Please, I need you to do this." He pleaded with her. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Ok." She looked petrified. By now Dean and Bobby had stood back and Dean was rubbing where Dallas had pushed him. Tammy saw a brown haired man walk into the room, who she presumed was Sam.

"Hey guys, what..." he began to approach them when Dean grabbed his arm and shushed him. Sam backed away, confused by the situation.

"Now," her attention was back on Dallas, "Drink this." He commanded, passing her a glass of some unknown liquid... It looked like water. She took a deep breath and took a swig. In fact it tasted just like water.

"Water?" she puzzled, thinking it would hurt more than that. Seeing the blade still gripped tight in his other hand she assumed the test wasn't over.

"Holy water." He corrected with a smile. Setting the glass down for a moment he took her arm and lifted up her sleeve to just above the elbow. He poured another clear liquid over her arm, waited a moment and then wiped it off with the hankie of hers he had kept. Seeing the question in her eyes he was quick to answer. "Borax. Bleach." He explained. Holding her hand upwards he cupped it and poured a small amount of what looked like salt into her palm. He held her hand up to Dean who nodded.

"Still one more test." He replied gruffly, thinking he may have jumped the gun too quickly. Dallas sighed sadly.

"Sorry for this, just don't throw another cushion at me, ok?" he laughed but before Tammy had time to reply had cut across the outside of her arm, drawing blood and causing a squeal from Tammy who was shocked.

"Hey! You could have warned me." It didn't hurt too badly but Tammy wished he'd have told her. "Dick." She mumbled as he tied a bandage around the cut, causing him to smirk. "Okay... when do you start the test?" she began to worry again.

"That's it. Done." He grinned at her disbelieving face.

"But you said it would hurt a lot! Like as much as Mac's hex bag!" she complained as Dallas repeated all the tests on himself, a pained expression flashing across his face for a fraction of a second when he sliced his arm, holding up the evidence of each test up for Dean to inspect.

"I'm convinced." Dean threw up his hands and gestured for Sam to approach. "Sammy, Tammy. Tammy, Sammy. Hey that rhymes. Aww you guys are so cute sometimes." he said ruffling Sam's hair before Sam shoved him away, then Dean walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Tammy. How are you?" Sam smiled friendly.

"I'm good. Bit overwhelmed. But good. You?" she returned the kindness.

"Sleepy. Which reminds me, Dean, we're out of coffee." He called guiltily.

"Oh c'mon Sammy. Seriously? Oh, man." Dean said angrily as he came back from the other room. He walked over to Tammy as Dallas took seat in the corner of the room, keeping an eye on Dean. He was surprised by the outburst from him. Dean smiled at Tammy. "Sorry about that. Just, can't be too careful. I mean Cas is an angel. Nothing spooks him and well I had to wonder. You forgive me buttercup?" he grinned down at her.

"Yeah. It's fine. I get it. I don't know what I could've done to offend him. I mean, I have an angry witch after me but aside from that... I'm clean." She grinned.

"Now I doubt you're completely clean. Living with Dallas, if you catch my drift." He winked taking a seat after unloading books from the chair onto the already buckling table. Tammy's brow furrowed.

"What? No. I don't get your... drift." She turned round to question Dallas who blushed slightly at Dean's comment.

"Don't be stupid Dean." Scalded Dallas.

"What! You're kidding me! You spent a whole car journey with him and nothing?" he laughed, incredulous. "I don't know how you managed to keep your hands of 'im Tammy." Dean roared with laughter.

"Fuck off Dean." Laughed Dallas.

"Whatever bitch, Y'know I'm just kidding." He continued to laugh as there was a knock at the door. He hurled himself from his seat and stretched before approaching the door. Looking through the spy hole he yanked the door open before saying cheerfully, "Cas, why..." but he was cut off by Castiel's angry tone.

"Is _it_ still here?" he questioned.

"Who, Tammy? Yeah. Man what was that? She checks out. She's human." He reassured Cas, but he was having none of it.

"Well of course it is human. I need to speak with Dallas, Sam and you at once." He began stalking off, towards the Impala. Dean came back in wearing a confused expression.

"Erm, Sammy, Dallas. Cas needs to speak to us. Sounds urgent." He walked out the front door to join the angel with Sam following. Dallas smiled at Tammy and squeezed her shoulder encouragingly, before joining them at the Impala. When he reached the car Sam was practically asleep already. He wasn't kidding when he told Tammy he was tired.

"Good, now we are all here I have a pressing matter to discuss. The girl." Cas informed the group.

"What about her?" Dallas eyed him suspiciously. Castiel turned round angrily to Dean.

"You didn't pass along my message! Why?" he pointed at him angrily.

"C'mon dude. You started talking to me in the middle of 'Dr. Sexy MD'. You're lucky I caught the word 'destiny'!" Dean was quick to defend his let down.

"What Destiny? Cas what is this about?" Sam said lazily, his body tired but his brain wide awake.

"That human is important. I have explained to you destiny before and existing as a celestial being I am very aware of such forces. There has been talk amongst the angels about that particular human. It is different." He informed.

"Oh no, please don't tell me she's a freaking vessel!" cried Dean.

"No. It is different because of destiny. Ever creature, every organism, every man, woman and child has a destiny. It is the exception." He explained. Dallas but 2 and 2 together.

"Cas. Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he looked wearily at Castiel, dreading his answer.

"It has no destiny. It is free to do anything with no consequence of the universe." He sighed, letting the group register this fact. Dallas groaned, Dean gasped and Sam let out a slight snore only to have everyone turn to see his peaceful expression.

"Sammy! Dammit man this is important. Wake up!" Dean sneaked up to his head and screeched down his ear. Sam woke with a cry of "Coffee!" before having his droopy eyes briefly focus on Dean before closing again.

"Ugh. Cas, you mind?" Dean turned to ask but Castiel had already disappeared only to reappear a second later in front of Sam and shoving the coffee cup into his hand. Woken by the sudden heat, Sam let out a shout of delight before drinking until his throat burned and his eyes were wide open.

"Thanks. I needed that." He grinned, patting Castiel on the back.

"Sam. How long has it been since you slept?" queried Dallas to get the reply of a guilty smile.

"Research is going well. I can't waste time with such basic human functions. I'm fine." Imitating Sam's answer mockingly Dean then turned serious and looked straight at Sam. "Sam. You keep on going on like this and you're gonna kill yourself. It's making you weak and an easy target man. Besides, now we have 2 more hunters to help with the job! Right, Dal?" Grinned Dean, punching Dallas lightly on the arm.

"Erm. About that. Tammy's not a hunter. She's, would you believe, a psychologist." He admitted, and jumped when dean kicked a broken down old car in frustration.

"Dammit! Dallas, I told you. I told you not to bring anyone into this business. Y'know how much shit she's gonna have to deal with now? A hell of a lot. Did you tell her about what she's gonna have to give up, huh? Did you tell her how much shit she will have to put up with? I bet not. Man I thought you were better! She's weak! She can't do this. She's gonna be dead before the week is up!" Dean shouted, to get punched in the jaw by Dallas and to back off in pain. Sam braced himself for an attack and Cas let his angel blade slip comfortably into his palm instinctively.

"She isn't going to get hurt Dean! She's not gonna be a hunter. I brought her here to protect her. I ain't gonna let her get hurt. Not by you, not by Mac, not by _anybody_!" Dallas roared into the night. He waited till his breath had reached a normal pace again before helping Dean up. He then turned back to the angel whose blade was still drawn just in case. "So what if she has no destiny? I mean it doesn't make a huge difference. From what she said about herself she hasn't done anything life changing ever. So why is she so much of a target? And to who?" Castiel sighed and began to explain, a sombre expression painted on his face as he did so.

"It means it can be used as a weapon of unimaginable destruction. The angels want it and so do the demons. They can use it to rewrite history. It can go back and do anything to the timeline, and the universe will just instantly adapt. No ill effects, no consequences. For example, if an angel was to send it back to the appropriate time, it could kill Lucifer before he was thrown in the cage. Or stop the first human in existence. It could do anything with training and discipline."

"Ok. So she's in serious trouble from more than an angry witch. Great." Dallas sighed sarcastically.

"Yeah, you said she's new to the game. So how has she already got a witch on her?" Sam questioned Dallas pointedly. He looked much more alert now he's had some coffee.

"It's a long story. I was in deep. Y'know that witch we ganked in Montana? Yeah well one thing we didn't count on was her having a boyfriend. Mac. He ambushed me and knocked me out cold. He took me to a motel, and not in the sexy way. He tortured me, wanting to know about you two, you guys got the final shot on her, remember. Then this tiny little thing knocks on the door saying we have the wrong room. Mac invites her in and she goes right ahead. Then she picks up a pistol and scared him off. It was freaking awesome for a newbie. Then I took her home and her house exploded. I just drove. Her friend and her friend's son got caught in the blast." Dallas took a deep breath. Sam looked pained and Dean was speechless. Castiel just looked on without much expression. That was one thing Dallas hated about Cas, he was always so emotionless. He would have liked to insult him by calling him 'Spock' but he knew that Castiel wouldn't get the reference and it was only fun if he took offence.

"Poor girl... All that and she's still walking. She's tough, I'll give her that. Now who's gonna tell her?" said Sam, deliberately looking towards Dallas as he spoke.

"No, not yet, one more thing. Cas, if that's all true, why were you so spooked? She isn't a danger without training. So why'd you fly off?" Dean looked expectantly at the angel who was now looking back at Bobby's house.

"With a strange gift such as that one it is a danger to all creatures. Even us angels. Heaven is always looking for creatures such as it that could be useful in the war against hell. That I've been so close to it; it's easy to imagine they saw it through my eyes and to give heaven such a weapon could be disastrous. I had to go to a quiet spot for some time, try to block out their chatter. With a clear head there was no risk of them seeing what I see, or for them to see what I was planning. I know what we need to do with it I believe. It needs to die." Castiel then very calmly drew his blade and started walking towards the house. Dallas ran and stood in front of him, blocking his way.

"You don't _touch_ her!" he yelled at the angel. Looking to Dallas, Castiel raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"This is the way it must be. It must die. It's is simple Dallas. No move aside. I don't want to hurt you." He explained calmly.

"HER!" Dallas took a step closer to Castiel, their faces mere inches apart. Dallas looked murderous. "She's not an _it_," he spat "She is a girl. A girl that needs protecting. Cas, why can't you see her as that? Not as a danger but as a girl that has already lost so much. I don't hold much respect for you but you have helped these guys a lot in the past. They wouldn't stake their lives on a murderer of innocent girls. C'mon man. Have a heart. Not a monster. Not an it. A girl." He pleaded, giving up on being aggressive around halfway through his speech. He knew if this was reduced to a fight, Castiel would have killed him in the blink of an eye. Just then they heard a door swing open on its hinges to see Tammy standing, looking stricken, on the porch.

"I heard shouting. Is everything ok?" she then saw Castiel. "Oh. I'm sorry; I didn't know I was interrupting. I'm sorry for, erm, before. I really am. I didn't mean to freak you out or anything." She looked worried, twisting a piece of her in her fingers. Seeing Cas readjust his grip on the dagger in his peripheral vision, Dallas whipped around to Sam.

"Sam. Take Tammy inside." He commanded, turning back to Cas who was eyeing up Tammy, making Dallas uneasy.

"No. Wait..." smiled Dean. He waved to Tammy and shouted over, "C'mon here sweetie. Ignore the douche in the trench coats pervy looks." He laughed as Tammy walked over slowly, keeping her eye on Castiel who looked like he was using all his strength not to reach over and snap her neck there. Once she had reached Dean he put his arm around her waist and walked her over to Cas, only to be blocked half way by Dallas' strong hand on his chest.

"No Dean. Don't test him. I'm trying to keep her out of danger and you're hanging her like bait in front of an angel who wants nothing more than to kill her!" he warned. Dean just smiled and turned to Tammy.

"Fine, we'll just do this here then. Tammy, could you please tell the jury what you're favourite animal is?" he grinned encouragingly to her.

"My favourite animal? Why?" she questioned, suspicious of his intentions.

"Please just answer the question." He pleaded, aware of how angry Castiel was looking.

"I don't know! Cats maybe? I like bees. I used to have a jack Russell terrier. Why, is that important?" she looked scared now, afraid her answers were unsuitable.

"Cats and bees. We won't mention the dog part... But c'mon Cas. Does that sound like the answer of a war machine? No? We'll try again. Let's see... What's your favourite food?" he grinned when he saw Castiel loosen his grip on the dagger.

"Pizza probably. But I like ice cream and skittles too. But they count as more of a sweet don't they?" she pondered as Dean grinned at Cas' confused expression.

"Dean. What is the point of asking it for its preference of confectionary?" he demanded, angry that Dean was stalling.

"I'm showing you that she's about as harmless as a 'suitable for 36 months' age range ragdoll. One more, maybe two. I'm kind of enjoying this!" he admitted giving Tammy a squeeze. "What's your favourite breakfast?"

"Waffles smothered with chocolate spread." She answered truthfully. Dean chuckled at her answer.

"What about your one flaw. Like the thing too many people know that gets embarrassing?" Dean questioned. Tammy blushed and bit her lip. "C'mon. Don't be shy. To be honest the only thing keeping you alive right now is how adorable you are so keep 'em coming!" Tammy gasped. She wrapped her arms around herself and took a deep breath.

"I'm ticklish. Like _really _ticklish. All over." She looked at her feet. She didn't really hate being ticklish. It was just how people used it to their advantage. Like if she was having an argument they could just tickle her and all her anger would melt away. Dean couldn't breathe for laughing. He fell to the ground as he rocked backwards and forwards with squeals of delight at how cute she was. Dallas managed to control his reaction to just a pleased smile and Sam was roaring with laughter behind them. Annoyed at their laughing Tammy just looked the angel straight in the eye, to see him look perplexed when he saw her eyes. Like he was considering her. He then pushed past the Winchester's, grabbed Tammy's wrist and tapped her forehead before she could even react.

"You said an hour, it's been almost three!" Dallas called tiredly. Tammy felt sick with hunger and rolled over clutching her stomach only to cry out when her head hit the ground. She looked around quickly seeing Bobby's living room and a stunned Dallas run into the room to see what the disturbance had been. She had been lying on the couch and was now rubbing the back of her head where she fell. "Honey. Oh thank God! I swear I'll kill that angel. You look tired, are you tired Tammy? There's a guest bedroom upstairs if you feel like catching forty winks." He sighed helping her back up onto the couch.

"Ah! Princess, you're awake. Dallas here was starting to get worried." Dean mumbled, his mouth packed with pie.

"I'm starving!" Tammy complained to Dallas who looked stricken. It had been a while since he had to cope with other people's needs. He looked around desperately, rubbing her back soothingly as he spotted Dean.

"C'mon man, she needs it more than you right now." Dallas begged.

"No! Puppy dog eyes don't work on me, and you know it!" Dean pulled a sour look. He looked down at the pie and sighed. He stood with the plate in his hand and approached Tammy slowly, like a zoo keeper approaching a bear with a piece of meat. He looked long and hard at her and then gave her the plate.

"Dean, you sure?" she worried. Apparently pie meant a lot to him.

"No. But it's better for you than whatever nightmare Sam is cooking." He replied gruffly, watching Tammy silently as she took the first bite. Then Sam popped his head around the corner.

"Hey! It's not a nightmare, it's healthy!" he looked kinda angry, Tammy guessed Sam's cooking was a discussion point that came up often.

"It's a crime against all that is good and holy in this world!" Dean replied, matching his anger.

"On the contrary, heaven has no issue with pastries or vegetables." Piped up a voice from the other side of the room. Castiel who had previously been silent stood but then immediately sat again at the sight of Tammy, looking like he wished he could melt back into the wall, out of view.

"Guys, not now. Cas, would you like to explain to Tammy why you knocked her out for _3 hours_?!" Dallas demanded, Castiel flinched when Dallas began again. "Ugh. You're an ass! A yellow bellied ass! Since the 'angel' is too scared to explain I will, basically when he..."

"No. I will speak." Cas interrupted him. Dallas gave a triumphant smile and then leaned back on the couch, ready for Cas' story to be over and for Tammy to flip.

"I'm sorry. Before anything else I am truly sorry, Tammy, if I may call you that. You see I needed to know what you were capable of, so I intended to look into your mind to see what you thought and felt at that moment. But as I saw the unique way in which you see the world... It was beautiful. I intended to stop but your memories just kept on flooding in. I saw everything. Your past, your present. Everything. I am sorry." He looked ashamed as he saw the stunned look on Tammy's face.

"You saw... everything... You saw what I saw, what I felt, what I thought?" she asked disbelieving.

"Everything." He gulped as she stood up and approached him. He looked down expecting a verbal or physical attack. He wouldn't stop her. He wouldn't defend himself. He would let the punches come, they wouldn't hurt physically he knew but they would each make him feel worse. But still not what he deserved.

"You looked through all my memories... You know everything about me... All my secrets, my defences, my reactions?!" She demanded, her volume rising with anger.

"Yes." He whispered. He jumped when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder and looked up startled to see her soft face smiling kindly.

"Then you know it's not in my nature to hold grudges. I forgive you." She smiled. Castiel stood suddenly, almost knocking Tammy off balance. He looked down at her and couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"What? No! I saw _everything_! You must punish me!" he practically begged and looked confused when she shook her head.

"You said I see the world in a unique way. I take that as a compliment. Yeah I'm a little... put out but I can't hate you. I really can't! Right now you guys and Mac are the only people I know. Everyone else could get hurt if I contact them. But Dallas, you gotta be pissed right?" she smiled innocently. Dallas did look angry. If anyone saw all of his memories he would probably kill them on the spot. But she had just forgiven the unimaginable.

"Why? Why would I be pissed?" he mumbled with a suspicious look to Cas before focusing back on Tammy.

"Well. Cas, if I may call you that, has just seen everything. All of my memories. Everything I have seen so has he... He's seen you naked" she giggled. Dallas stiffened when he heard Castiel chuckle and Dean almost spit out the remainder of the pie Tammy had left.

"What?! But you said... Ha!" Dean laughed along with Tammy until Dallas shot an angry look to Cas.

"Cas? Did you?" he asked with a warning tone.

"I'm afraid so." He almost smiled but seeing Dallas' expression held his poker face. Dallas looked murderous then grinned when Tammy patted his arm.

"It's fine. I'm sure he just had a peak of... hey, what's so funny?" she smiled uncertainly.

"Yeah... he saw me naked... but he also saw you naked!" he announced triumphantly. Tammy was speechless.

"Oh God... Cas, is there any way you can, y'know, forget about that, or block it out or something." She blushed crimson as he shook his head.

"No. I am sorry. But if it would make you feel better I could remove my clothing..." he began innocently undoing his tie but stopped when he got the reply of a roared '_NO!' _from everyone in the room aside from Tammy who blushed more darkly and muttered a moment too late 'no', fooling nobody.

"Ahem..." smiled Sam as he came into the room with a steaming platter of greens and set it down proudly on the table. Tammy grimaced, she had no clue why but she never did like vegetables. Dean looked at the feast as though it would conjure a knife and attack him at any second. "It is a little burnt but it should be fine." Sam grinned at them all. He ran back into the kitchen, forgetting something. "Oh damn! We're out of vinaigrette!" he shouted back into the living area, crestfallen. Dean took saw his chance and seized it. He stood up and grinned at Sam when he came back in.

"Sammy... I know how much you love your vinaigrette! I just can't bear the thought of you without it. I tell you what; I'll into town really quick and gettcha some, huh? How's that?" he smiled at Sam, trying to appear sincere.

"I could..." began Castiel but was silenced with a look from Dean.

"Dean, man, don't worry. It'll be fine on its own, I'm sure." Sam reassured his brother. Dean just shook his head.

"No way, hose! I'll get you your salad sauce, Sammy, don't you worry!" he punched his arm playfully as he began to leave but saw the look on Tammy's face and hatched a plan quickly. "Say Tam Tam. How're you with a rifle?" he pondered. Dallas shot Dean a suspicious look which he ignored.

"I've never even held a..." Tammy began but Dean winked at her when Sam wasn't looking. She got the hint. "Oh, erm, I mean... Great! Just dandy. Of course I prefer semi automatics but, well beggars can't be choosers!" she laughed in a strangled sort of way.

"That's what I like to hear! Anyway, it can be dangerous around town at this hour on my lonesome. Maybe if you came with me you could provide a little added protection?" he mused.

"Y'know what Dean? You're absolutely right! It is dangerous at this time of year, in this part of the country, at this time of night. I guess... I guess I'll just have to join you." She looked heartbroken. Dean couldn't help but note how good of an actress she was.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. C'mon." He could barely contain his laughter. Tammy shuffled out awkwardly and they both jumped into the Impala, letting out their breaths in one big huff. Dean started up the engine. He had a huge grin painted on his face and couldn't stop looking at Tammy in his peripheral vision.

"What are you grinning about?" asked Tammy, matching his grin with one of her own. He shrugged.

"Just you. You're a great actress." He laughed before his face turned sad and he sighed.

"What?" she worried over his change in attitude.

"It's a shame but being a good actor is handy in this line of work." He muttered, turning on the stereo and relaxing as Bon Jovi flowed out the speakers.

"And why is that a bad thing if I'm good at it?" Tammy asked him seriously, turning her body to face him.

"You don't want to be one of us Tamarin, you really don't." He pronounced her full name to grab her attention more fully.

"Why? I don't think there is much of a choice here." She sighed, turning back in her seat to look out the window. She could hardly believe how much she had lost in just a few hours and couldn't understand why she wasn't a shivering wreck, drenched in her own tears by now.

"No! No you always, _always_ have a choice. Okay? And just trust me. You don't win in this business."

"Dean. I don't mean to offend you but I'm okay. I can take care of myself. Besides, if I don't learn your stuff soon, more people are gonna get hurt." Tammy defended her argument. She wasn't just gonna sit by as people fought for her now. She was always good at that; sitting on the sidelines as people won and lost. But she just couldn't it happen like that this time. She didn't know why, she just did.

"No! Okay believe me. You can't take care of yourself. No one can with a price on their head in a world full of monsters. And people are gonna get hurt anyway. You being a hunter or not isn't gonna change any of that. You need to let us help you. You're essential right now and like it or not, I'm gonna keep you safe." He ended taking in a deep breath.

"Why me?" replied immediately.

"Because you are important!" he roared, hating himself when he saw Tammy practically jump out of her skin when she saw the anger in his eyes. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, hoping for a second that this was a dream. That he wasn't about to ruin this girls life by telling her the truth about herself. He briefly considered praying for Castiel to come and explain it for him but decided against it. Cas was often indelicate and made things worse. No, Dean would have to do it. "Listen. The reason Cas wanted you dead is because you're not normal. Well you are physically but, no that's... that's a bad way of putting it. I mean... What I'm trying to say is... Jeez, alright. Let's try it this was. Do you believe in destiny?" he stumbled over his words, struggling to get the right ones out.

"No" she looked really confused. But she wasn't scared anymore.

"Dammit. Can we just say for arguments sake you do? Anyway, basically everything has a destiny. For example mine was to become a vessel for an angel dick called Michael. But I didn't. Some stuff happened, I broke the rules. But anyway, destiny guides everything, I mean _everything._ Everything in existence has a destiny. Everything, except you." He scanned her face for a flicker of emotion, a gasp or a furrowed brow. She looked out the window and sighed.

"You're wrong." She said blankly.

"No, believe me, I wish I was." He looked pained seeing her take a deep breath to refocus her. She looked calm, but seeing her hands at her sides, balled up into angry fists told Dean otherwise.

"I'm nothing special. That's why you're wrong. That's why it can't be me. Because I'm ordinary. Simple as." Tammy spoke angrily, determined to get out her words. She had to let him see why he was wrong.

"Hey there, you crazy emo. Don't make me give the cliché chick flick 'everyone is special and beautiful in their own magical way' speech, okay? This _is _you now." Dean smiled at Tammy.

"Don't do that." She requested, looking over to him.

"Do what?"

"Pity me. Its one thing having all this shoved on me, but an entirely other having a sorry sap driving me around. Don't be all 'I'm so sorry for you'. Be angry, be commanding. It'll stop me complaining. I need to handle this, not to have a hug and a pat on the back." Tammy ranted. Dean gawked at her in disbelief. He couldn't believe how cool she was with this.

"Oh, right. Okay. Anyway, erm, we came out for supplies." He beamed. Marching of towards the off-license Tammy stumbled as she ran to catch up with him. Once inside she was surprised by how warm it was. She hadn't noticed how cold she had been and continued to follow Dean through the maze of shelves, picking off random items of interest. She chuckled when Dean picked off a porn magazine from the rail and flicked through a few pages, a satisfied smile on his face when he threw it into the basket he had been carrying around. He grabbed a few more supplies before handing Tammy a credit card and whispering "8395" along with it, pointing her towards the till as he went off to look for the little boys' room. She approached the clerk, a pretty redhead wearing a red uniform and equally shocking lipstick, and dragged the now heavy basket onto the till as the clerk began scanning the items. Tammy looked around the till for some gum, having not seen any in the store as they walked around.

"Excuse me, but do you have any gum?" Tammy inquired.

"No." Replied the clerk in a surprisingly deep and dangerous tone.

"Oh. Ok. Just most places do sell gum, heaps of the stuff in fact. It's weird that you wouldn't." Tammy was suspicious. Usually you couldn't go to any shop without there being gum in a hundred different flavours being laid out on a silver platter before you, but here there wasn't even one measly strip? Odd. The clerk made a slight motion, reaching her arm into the unusually deep pocket of her uniform, which Tammy caught with the corner of her eye when she was scanning the rest of the store. Suddenly the clerk had a knife at Tammy's throat, cackling when Tammy gave a horrified expression to the sight of the clerk's eyes flashing wholly black for a moment, before returning to their natural hazel.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Red wounds**

"_**What doesn't kill you fucks you up mentally."**_

"Ok! Y'know its fine. I can get gum somewhere else! Okay, I think this is my signal to skedaddle! Dean!" called Tammy with a strangled cry as the clerk trotted around the till to hold the dagger against Tammy's throat more harshly.

"Yes, coming. I..." Dean froze as he bounced from the restroom, wiping his hands on his jeans. He instinctively grabbed his demon knife and stood poised, ready for an attack. The clerk just laughed.

"The knife. Toss it away from you. Or the girl dies." Chortled the clerk, pushing the dagger harder against Tammy's exposed throat, little beads of red appearing along the length of the scratch now being carved into her neck, being rewarded with a whimper from Tammy. He gave the demon a once over before throwing the knife to his left, about 10 feet from himself. Grinning manically the demon pushed Tammy off to where Dean stood. He grabbed her on reflex and held her steady till she regained her balance. Tammy gripped her throat in a pained way, gasping when she pulled her hand away to see blood. Turning their attention back to the demon they were herded till their backs were to the wall and the demon was about to kill them both.

"Oh great! We came here for porn and now we're gonna die!" Tammy worried. Dean patted her arm soothingly, not taking his eyes off the demon.

"Its fine, Tammy." He reassured her.

"You have got to be kidding! She has our backs to a wall with a knife at our throats! In what way is this fine?" Tammy breathed deeply before her eyes met the demon knife Dean had thrown, to her left. She knew she wouldn't be able to reach it by the time the demon had killed her... but there is one way of getting there quickly without the demon even batting an eyelid, she thought.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Dean Winchester. What a pleasure. I should kill you now you toad! You killed a lot of good demons. But I think I'd prefer to torture you first... And you!" she purred, turning her attention back to Tammy. "The girl with no destiny... I'm gonna take you to the bowels of hell... You will do what we want... Oh the innocents you'll kill! I get tingly just thinking about it!" The redhead looked overjoyed with her catch... Tammy knew what she had to do. She gave Dean a miniscule wink and grabbed a rolling pin on a shelf next to her. She smacked it over the demons head and gasped convincingly when it snapped in two. The demon looked furious and raised an arm, slamming it into Tammy. Tammy felt all the breath leave her body by the blow and then felt a horrible sharp pain on her back as she flew through several shelves finally coming to a halt when she hit the wall at a sickening force. For a moment all she could think about was the pain. Then when she came to her senses she saw she was right where she wanted to be. She was a mere metre from the knife Dean had thrown. Her pain subdued by the adrenaline she hesitantly reached out a hand for the knife, a groan of pain escaping her lips as she did so. By now the demon had rounded its attention back on Dean.

"Silly girl. Should have known I'm stronger than a flimsy wooden baking utensil. No matter... She'll suffer worse in hell... Just as you and your father before you did. Ha. Oh what I would have given to hear you scream like that. I would have sold my soul... Oh wait, I don't have one! When you are down there, say 'hi' to Crowley for me... It was nice meeting you!" she raised her dagger threateningly, about to stab Dean in the heart when she fell harmlessly to the ground, a dark red stain spreading across her back, around a dagger in her flesh to the handle. Some of the blood had gotten onto Tammy's hands and she just looked at them, not really seeing them. The red clouded her sight, or was it the tears now pooling in Tammy's eyes? She blinked them away as she sat clumsily on the ground.

"Water... I need a bottle of water." She choked out, licking her dry lips as she did so. Dean complied gladly, grabbing a bottle and giving it to her. She removed the cap and poured it over her hands, washing off the blood as best she could. Dean knelt down before her, a gentle hand on her knee. "Hide the body." She commanded.

"What?" he whispered. She looked up at him with an aggressive look.

"Hide the body! Not too well though, make sure it looks like someone attempted to hide it, just not well. Make sure someone can find it. Don't leave any prints. Go into the bathroom and wipe off all the surfaces you might have touched. Then take all the money from the cash register and any items that look valuable on her body; bracelets, watches, cash, wedding ring. Anything. Check for security cameras. Gimme a sec. I'll help in a minute." She spoke calmly, not taking her eyes off her now clean hands turning them over to inspect them carefully. Her mind was blank except from one word. One word she saw on every surface now imprinted on the very fabric of her mind. One word, dripping in crimson._ Murderer_._ Murderer_._ Murderer_. Everywhere she looked was the word. She couldn't escape it. Dean stood gingerly and did everything she asked of him, still having no idea as to why she would make such odd requests. As he removed the last few bills from the cash register it dawned on him. A robbery. She was trying to make it look like a robbery. He almost admired how focused she was. Once he had done everything he went back to her, handing her a chocolate bar on the way.

"Keep your strength up." He smiled warmly at her. She looked disgusted, at first he thought with the images inside her own head but then he noticed her eyes following him as he went around double checking for surfaces he might have left fingerprints on.

"What? Why are you looking at me like I just ate a baby?" he questioned pointedly.

"Again with the pity! Don't tell me you're sorry I had to do that or whatever! Tell me what to do! Get mad if I say I want to wait for a minute! Shout and get angry!" she roared, surprising herself with her red hot anger. He seemed taken aback for a moment before looking confused.

"So wait, I'm not getting angry enough?" he posed.

"Yeah! Order me to do stuff, to function. Keep me on track; tell me that nobody cares if I just hurt someone, that nobody cares if _I'm_ hurting, that nobody cares if I'm..."

"Broken." He finished, a little bile rising in the back of his throat as he remembered telling Castiel the same thing. That was a long time ago now.

"Yes. Exactly." She huffed, her anger dying down again.

"Alright. Well in that case get your lazy ass up and start wiping your prints!" he squawked at her. She immediately stood up and began going around the room with a flannel from one of the shelves. Once they had done they returned to the Impala and began driving home. Tammy looked very tired but Dean was relieved that she was ok. A few times he tried to spark up a conversation but she quickly ended it, giving simple yes no answers and keeping clear of detail. Once they got home it was obvious she wasn't okay. As they pulled up the porch light flicked on, brightening their now dark surroundings. Dallas waved a hello to them, wearing a thick jacket and clean jeans, free of blood. Tammy ran from the car, leaving the door open, on which Dean was about to call her out on when she sped into Dallas, wrapping her arms around him and breaking down into sobs. Shocked, Dallas removed his jacket and threw it around her, returning the hug. Dean lurched off to them, stopping when he saw how furious Dallas looked.

"What happened? What did you do?!" Dallas gasped as Tammy tightened her arms around his waist. Not waiting for an answer Dallas quickly guided Tammy inside, up to the guest bedroom. He sat on the bed with her still sobbing into his shoulder. When her breathing evened out a bit he lay back slightly, propped up by the numerous pillows. With her head on his chest and his long arms wrapped around her it was finally peaceful. Dallas felt tired. He just held her; every now and again another crushing wave of sobs would rip her apart, like salt to the wound. He picked stray flecks of glass from her golden hair and she drew swirls on his arm with her finger. Tammy wiped her face and blushed, realising she had just cried in front of someone. The last time she had done that her Mother had kicked her out of the house because she had picked Vince. To her mother that had meant Vince meant more to Tammy than her. Tammy had cried silently as her mother trashed their house, throwing every single one of Tammy's possessions into a suitcase and then taking the suitcase to the car, tears rolling down her own face. Tammy took the next day off work to wallow in self pity before calling Vince and telling his 'yes', to marriage and to America... They lay there like that for a while until Dallas heard quiet, low snores coming from Tammy's still form. Looking over to the clock on the dresser he saw it was 2 o'clock in the morning. He moved gently around her, positioning her gently and then throwing a blanket over her. She moved for a moment making Dallas think she had awoken before snuggling into a loose foetal position. He took of her slip-on sandals and placed them outside the door. Taking one last look at her relaxed face he switched off the light and closed the door securely before wandering down the stairs. He was scared by how quickly and how deeply protective he felt over her. It was like he had known her his whole life, and then some. He almost wanted to apologise to everyone for how hostile he had been lately when it came to her safety, but stopped himself, hating the thought of trying to explain why he felt he had to guard her. He didn't even know the answer. Entering the living area he gave an angry look at Dean before grabbing the whiskey, pouring himself a glass and drinking it slowly. Dean was about to begin but Dallas held up a hand silencing him. He poured some more out and then settled himself into one of chairs. He took a deep breath and spoke, as levelled as he could.

"Now what happened?" Dean searched the room as if desperate to find some way of explaining himself. He looked helplessly to Sam and Bobby who both looked just as curious to find out the truth. He took a deep breath and begun.

"We went out for supplies. To the little 24 hour, outside town. I told her everything. She took it well and when we got there we grabbed the stuff we needed. I gave her one of the credit cards and went to the bathroom. Then she called for me. I finished up and came out to see the fricken clerk go all black eyed and threaten to slice up Tammy if I didn't throw the demon-icing dagger away from me. So I did. Clerk starts talking and then Tammy winks at me and grabs a rolling pin. She clubs the black eyed son of a bitch with it. I didn't get it, but then I realised why she did it. She knew the fastest way to get to the dagger was to be hurled at it by a demon. When she's almost dead against the wall the clerk is about to kill me, when Tammy runs up behind her and stabs her in the back. She washes her hands when I think she's about to freak out when she tells me to fricken hide the body and grab all the money from the cash register! She knew how to make it look like a robbery so we wiped down the prints and left. She was okay... Then we get back and, well. You saw." He finished quietly. Sam and Bobby both looked surprised. Dallas looked calm but was breathing heavily.

"I said I would protect her... And then you go and make her kill a demon?!" he roared suddenly. He took a swig of whiskey from the bottle, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked exhausted. "What did she say?" he asked calmly. Dean thought for a moment.

"She asked me to get mad... To shout at her that nobody cares if she's hurt and that she needs to handle it." He grimaced. Dallas smiled cheerlessly.

"She said she's okay... then she is." He concluded before standing up and lumbering drowsily over to the stairs, planning on checking on Tammy. Bobby stood up after him.

"Dal, you know that ain't how it works." He called as Dallas began climbing the stairs.

"Yeah well Bobby. I prefer her whole, so I'm gonna pretend she is. Let her get on with it. If she needs to talk she will." He retorted despondently. Bobby sighed and took his seat again. Sam, who had been very quiet up until then, turned to his brother.

"Dean..." he began.

"Shut up. I'm not in the mood for a speech." He stood and stretched. "I'm gonna get some shut eye." He announced and wandered towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" asked Sam.

"Sleeping in the Impala tonight." He said drowsily as he closes the door behind him and approached baby.

**The next morning**

Tammy awoke suddenly. Images of blood and black eyes still floated through her head as she rolled out of under the covers of the alien bed. She stood and almost fell face first, tripping on a can of spray paint. She looked to see a strange shape painted onto the floor in red. The last few brutal images of her dreams flashed through her mind. Most had one of her new 'friends' dead, in a pool of their own blood, and Tammy holding a dagger. There were also images of the clerk. Smiling, laughing, and joking with a family of shadowed faces. She looked happy but still had the black eyes which haunted Tammy so. Examining the shape under her feet more closely she saw it was a circle with a large star fitting inside of it, with peculiar symbols in the circle also. She nimbly avoided the other empty cans of spray paint and looked in the full body mirror on the back of the door. She hadn't even realised what she had been wearing for her adventure. Just simple pair of skinny jeans on her legs and her batman T-shirt on her top half. She saw over the foot of the bed was her leather jacket. She hadn't had it for long although it looked many years old, but was deliberately worn for style. She loved this jacket, purely because it was nice. It cost quite a bit of money, not a ridiculous amount but enough that she mentally debated whether she really needed it. She grabbed her sandals from outside the door and slipped them on. Looking at her feet she realised how dysfunctional these shoes were. She hadn't noticed yesterday but her feet were quite badly beaten up, covered in grazes and scratches and bruises, presumably from when the demon hurled her at the window of the gas station. She crept quietly down the stairs and once in the living room greeted Bobby, who was at his desk, reading countless papers.

"Tammy. Good to see your awake." He commented gruffly. Tammy thought she heard something a lot like resentment in his words. She pushed off these thoughts for later analysis as she had so many times before as part of her job as Bobby stood up and went into the kitchen. He gestured at the table and Tammy was standing still, looking for a seat around the simple table.

"There are no chairs?" she turned over her shoulder to see Bobby looking in a fridge between the cooker and wall.

"Just sit on the table. No point looking for a chair in this mess." He replied, still sounding disapproving. Tammy obeyed and hopped up onto the table. "You hungry?"

"Erm... Only if you are." Tammy decided was the best response. Tammy hated this quality of herself. She couldn't make decisions, even little ones, like what to wear.

"Mmmmm. Bacon?" called Bobby, with his bearded head in the fridge, rifling through its contents.

"Sure." Bobby hastily began frying the bacon in a pan atop the cooker. Soon the sound of sizzling and the warm smell of bacon filled the air around them. Whilst Bobby was still frying the strips of pork Tammy became aware that she hadn't seen anyone else all day. "Where are the... boys?"She called over the delicious sound of the bacon, deciding 'boys' was a good way to go, knowing that Bobby considered them his.

"Out. They left 'bout an hour ago. Dal had Dean in a headlock and Sammy was crying but aside from that, they were fine." He replied, his beck still to Tammy.

"Oh, God! Really? What happened, are they ok? I need to find them; Dallas probably thinks its Dean's fault. Dammit!" she stood suddenly and began pacing. Bobby grinned to himself and turned with a plate full of bacon in either hand.

"Now, sit. I'm just pullin' your leg. They went out on a case to get their mind off things. I just wanted to see how you'd react." He smiled warmly as he put down one plate where Tammy had been sitting moments ago. He stood leaning against the counter, eating bacon and sipping beer. Tammy struggled to think of anything that could make him look like more of a manly father. He sighed, scratched under his cap and set his plate down and looked Tammy dead in the eye. Sensing thee conversation was about to get serious Tammy also set down her plate as she hopped back up onto the table and listened intently as Bobby began speaking.

"I don't know you. The boys told me about you but I still don't _know_ you. I just want one straight answer, no lies... Are you likely to put my boys in danger?" he finished. Tammy looked stricken. She had been expecting an outburst about how it was dangerous to be here and how she was just a little girl. Despite this she still looked sad.

"I... I don't know. I've almost already got Dean killed and Mac wanting my head on a stick probably isn't doing Dallas any favours. I'm starting to get that this business... Hunting or whatever you call it. Well hunting and caring for people don't mix well. And I know that I..." she took a calming, deep breath, "I care about him. And I think he cares for me too. Or at least, he would be sad if something happened to me." She scratched the inside of her arm subconsciously.

"You don't know the half of it." Bobby muttered, barely audible. Tammy didn't hear but could have guessed what had been said. Just then the front door opened and then slammed shut a few seconds after. Dean, Sam and Dallas all meandered into the kitchen, all wearing smart black suits. Tammy coughed and almost began choking when she saw them.

"Wow." Was all she could say once she had dislodged the stray piece of bacon trapped in her throat.

"Shut up." Grinned Dallas, stealing a piece of bacon from her plate and moaning gently as he began chewing. "I'm starving!" He loosened his tie and stuffed it into his pocket. Taking pity on him Tammy passed her plate to him and he couldn't have looked more pleased.

"Good morning to you too." She laughed quietly. Sam sat down at the kitchen table after dragging a chair to its corner and set up his laptop. Dean sighed at the sight of his determined face.

"Sammy, you need to sleep. Stop with the research already!"

"We've got to find out what is killing them Dean! If not more people are gonna die. We can't just ignore this. We need to stop these deaths!" Sam disagreed. From the other side of the room the purples under his eyes were obvious to Tammy, he looked exhausted. But at his words, Tammy's morbid curiosity was pricked.

"Deaths? What deaths?" she inquired. At once Dallas shifted his weight nervously.

"Oh, erm, yeah. Just outside of town people have been showing up with their scalp missing and a stench of sulphur. First off we thought it was just straight up demon case but there's no sign of weird happenings or black eyes. It's just weird is all." Sam replied, distracted by the laptops screen.

"Don't sugar-coat it for her." Dallas mumbled hopelessly as Tammy walked over to Sam as he tapped on the papers littered across the table. She gathered some of them and began flicking through the pages, her eyes scanning the page intently.

"Sulphur?" said Tammy.

"Yeah. Demons reek of the stuff. It's a dead giveaway."

"Any witnesses?" Tammy hummed thoughtfully. Dallas chocked on a strip of bacon much as Tammy had only minutes before.

"Hang on... Why aren't you freaking out? He just handed you a portfolio of 'hella weird' and you are fucking _calm_? Are you ill?" He panicked half-heartedly. He played with his cuff as everyone turned to him shocked for a minute before Sam rolled his eyes and returned to his research and Tammy smiled at Dallas sympathetically.

"Psychologist, remember? I did a lot of work on criminal psychology as a focus. That meant I had to see what had happened, to understand them, or try to at least. Besides, cut me a break. I'm gonna have to put up with you for the foreseeable future." Tammy said with a grin. She turned back to files and seeing her conversation had ended, Sam passed her a few more papers.

"Yeah. Some guy called Greg Moor. He saw Erin, that's _that_ one," he pointed at the correct document, "Get attacked by someone..."

"But it was conveniently too dark to see who." Finished Dean, striding over to the fridge for a cold one. Tammy raised her eyebrows at his use of the word 'conveniently'.

"You think he's lying?" she concluded and he gave a small smile.

"Oh he did it alright, or at least he knows something he isn't telling us. He won't speak to us honestly; he just speaks to the women..." He finished slowly, scrutinizing Tammy. She felt uncomfortable under his gaze and didn't like the way his eyes brightened suspiciously as he got an idea. At this Dallas wiped his mouth to remove any signs of grease from the bacon and stood beside Tammy. Sensing his proximity Tammy felt relieved.

"Oh no, oh no. I am not having you use her as a way of getting info from that old nut job." He warned gently, keeping an eye on his anger. Dean was about to retort but Tammy beat him to it.

"Says who?" she stood, trying to make herself appear tall, despite still being practically hobbit height compared to him.

"Says me. Mac wants you dead. Demons want you dead. All but one angel want you dead, an even now he could go either way on the whole 'Team Tammy' thing." Dallas concluded.

"C'mon. That was just a mistake on his part. But he's cool now with Tammy, isn't that right Tam Tam?" Dean grinned at her grimace at his new nickname for her. Tammy wondered about Cas, and where he stood on, as Dallas put it, the whole 'Team Tammy' ordeal. He hadn't said he was against killing her now, but hadn't exactly proclaimed his willingness to protect either. As she pondered another thought popped into her head. _Where is he?_ She assumed he spent most of his time with the Winchester's so thought he would have gone on the case with them.

"Wait, Castiel didn't go with you?" she wondered. Dean grinned at a memory.

"Yeah Cas isn't very good at the whole 'Fake FBI Agents' deal." Dean laughed, taking another long, drawn out sip from the bottle in his hand.

"Wait, you guys are pretending to be FBI agents?! That's stupid; you could compromise crime scenes, damage evidence, scare witnesses! Not to mention..." she began but was cut off by Dallas throwing his balled up blazer at her head.

"Honey, we've been doing this for a while. We're fine. We've only been caught, what, 12 times? And we've always gotten away in near enough one piece." He laughed. Tammy was about to argue her point further when a fluttering of wings was heard and they all looked to their right, towards the living area and saw the sight of Castiel limping in with a bloody nose and his angel blade smothered in red, clutched desperately in his left hand. At this sight Dean immediately ran over to the injured angel and threw Cas' arm over his shoulder, guiding him over to the coach. Once he was safely on the coach Castiel let a hacking cough escape from his lips. He looked awful. By now everyone had gone pale and Tammy instinctively ran to the sink and dampened a tea towel, dashing over to where Dean stood and handing him it. He smiled weakly and laid it over Cas' forehead before backing up a few feet, giving the angel some space. Tammy followed suit as Cas wiped his nose with his trench coat sleeve. He looked curiously at the blood on his cuff for a few seconds before repeating the gesture several time, with each brush of his nose with his sleeve he became more frustrated. He looked around the room, again looking worried. He coughed and spluttered a few more times before Dallas approached with a fresh glass of water. Originally Castiel looked confused and a bit offended before muttering his thanks and taking a sip. Dallas gulped as he backed off and stood beside Tammy.

"Cas?" Dean voiced uncertainly. Finishing his drink Castiel looked up at his friend's concerned face and immediately tried to stand, almost toppling over as he did so before Dean guided him back onto the coach. Cas looked frightened.

"My... powers" he choked out, as if testing his own voice still worked. "I can't heal myself!" he began panicking. He dropped the glass to the floor, wincing as it smashed loudly. To everyone's surprise he then grabbed a piece of smashed glass and deliberately nicked Dean's arm with it. Dean cussed and began to step away when Cas grabbed his wrist and extended two fingers to Dean's forehead. He checked the wound on Dean's arm again and visibly shuddered when he saw the wound still remained. Dean pushed him back onto the coach and looked angry all of a sudden.

"Cas, what happened?" Cas stopped his struggle to stand when Dean spoke, instead sitting up on the coach and took a deep breath.

"Ambush... It was an ambush. They waited for me to arrive in heaven. Then they summoned me and surrounded me in holy fire. I barely got out alive." He continued to cough and Tammy took a step forward, looking lost. She wanted so desperately to help but had no idea how to.

"Who Cas? Who ambushed you?" Dean continued.

"Demons. Their leader, Kaidro, is a 'Night of Hell'." Castiel proclaimed. Everyone but Tammy gasped in horror and Sam cussed loudly. Tammy leaned over to Dallas.

"'Night of Hell'?" she asked quietly. Dallas looked down at her briefly before returning his worried glare to Castiel.

"'Nights of Hell' are real sons'a'bitches. They were picked by Lucifer himself. They're annoying as hell, which you'd kinda expect, them being from hell and all. Abbadon, another 'Night of Hell', caused some real mayhem to these guys a while ago. She was relentless. Do you remember about a year ago, when all the stars fell? Yeah, she was involved." Dallas was going to tell Tammy that they were actually angels that fell. He thought of how much havoc had been caused and how hard it was to get them all back into the sky, how Metatron-the slippery ass- had fallen from their grasp. How hard it was to get Castiel back angel and in heaven for the brothers. Dallas hadn't personally helped them with it, instead helping hunters with the sudden boom of paranormal events around the country. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. Every time he mentioned it everyone would go all misty eyed and would hastily change the subject. Still, he regretted not being there for Sam and Dean then, but was happy for Bobby's return to the land of the living. But now everything had returned to normal he was happy, and they seemed so too.

"Not personally." She answered; bring Dallas back from his thoughts. Dallas looked confused as Tammy elaborated. "They fell for two days straight, right? I was unconscious."

"What? One fell on your head?" he joked.

"No, Vince... he was... hit around the same time. I fainted from the news and smashed my head on the coffee table. I was out for exactly two days. When I woke up there was talk of people who fell from the sky with no memory of anything. It was weird. I met a few and they were horrible to me. I cut them some slack coz' they had just fallen from space but... but still. They were... cold. No emotions, only hate for us." She replied gloomily. Dallas knew what she meant, he had hated them too. Cas and Dean had still been talking, unaware of Tammy and Dallas' conversation. Cas was looking white as a sheet in contrast with the bright sunlight that flooded in through the window. Dean looked very confused and Sam and Bobby were talking in hushed voices. Tammy hated the atmosphere; she always been annoyed by not knowing what was going on, even if no one else did either. And because she was impatient she couldn't just wait till the awkwardness subsided so tapped her left pocket, feigning sudden panic. "I think I left my phone in your car."

"Here." Dallas passed her the keys. A moment later he almost regretted them going but decided he could trust her with his baby. She closed the front door of Bobby's house gently behind her and sat in the Cadillac for a minute or two, just thinking. So much had happened in the last 24 hours. Tears welled in her eyes suddenly when her mind flicked over Emma and Danny. She felt it then. The _pain._ The agony of losing a friend. _Two_ Friends. She hated feeling so weak. After the sudden pain had subsided she wiped her eyes and just thought of Vince. Although it hurt it was a different kind of pain. Instead of regret and guilt she was filled with longing. Desperation, a physical need to see him again. She missed everything about the crazy fool. Waking up next to him and him rolling over, staring at her like she was his _everything_. She would have sold her soul to see that look in his warm chocolate eyes again. Everything about him. It was all precious to her. But everyday she forgot a bit more, a memory became a little foggier, one of his little imperfections that made him _him _was forgotten. His messy blonde hair which she missed knotting her fingers in. His surprisingly thin body hidden under the chunky jumpers he insisted on wearing. The way he would just zone out at the most inconvenient times. But she missed him still. She wanted his strong arms around her again, smoothing back her hair, telling her everything would be okay. He had tried to keep her safe from everything out there in the world. He was a little possessive about it really. To a point where he wouldn't even let her use public transport for the thought of something happening to her. At first she had thought it was just concern or paranoia. But then, when she fell and cut her leg, having to go to the hospital to get it stitched up and he was there, in tears. She had seen the panic there in his eyes and the red hot anger just behind the glassy overtones. She remembered how terrified he had been at the thought of losing her. How he had practically interrogated her to see if someone had deliberately hurt her. He truly, truly loved her. That wasn't Tammy being vain or shallow, but it was obvious to everyone they met. He would always say that she saved him from himself. She never knew what that meant. Even now she had no idea. But it didn't matter to Tammy anymore. She missed his scent, how gruff and seductive his voice would become when they were alone, how quick and shallow his breath would become when they kissed, how warm his hands were when he touched her like nothing before when they were home, how he would...

A tapping on the window of the car alerted her to the tan trench coat to her right (She was in the passenger seat). She wiped away her remaining tears, glanced at the rear-view mirror to check her eyes weren't too red and then lowered the window.

"Cas? You're alright!" she called happily. Cas looked curiously at her, as if trying to work something out.

"You." Was all he said. Tammy was confused but still tried to smile brightly as she opened the car door and stepped out into the cool air. Cas continued to look at her with his brow furrowed and she just smiled, shoved her hands inside of her pockets and leant back onto the impala. "You weakened me." He shot a reproachful look down at his vessel and then went back to glaring at Tammy who just shuffled awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, I did what?" she blurted out at his last few words.

"You weakened me... Just as you did Ezekiel." He theorized.

"Cas, are you okay now?" Cas just shook his head in response to the growing worry in her voice. "Cas? Castiel? Who is Ezekiel? Castiel, can you hear me?" She fretted and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but he shied away from the contact. Plucking her hand back Tammy just looked helplessly at Bobby's house, hesitating about whom to call for help with Cas. "Dean!" she exclaimed. After a few moments the front door was thrust open as a worried Sam began walking over.

"Dean's busy. What's up." He shoved his hands into his pockets, hoping his help would suffice. Tammy smiled, reassured to see a... Tammy didn't know what to call him. _Friend? Foe? Buddy who wants me gone_? She had no idea. Seeing as he didn't look like he wanted her dead she just went for the latter.

"Cas is sort of, erm, I don't really know." She admitted when Sam took in Cas, who was still shaking his head like a broken nodding dog. Sam patted Cas on the back gently, relieved when Cas didn't freak out at the contact.

"Cas? What's going on? One second you're choking on the coach and the next you're out here doing your weird head tilt sped up. You okay?" Sam still sounded tired. Tammy noticed now just how scarred he was. It seemed over every inch of him was a scar. She almost struggled to imagine him without them; they seemed as much a part of him as his eye colour, or his height. Cas still looked slightly deranged, still shaking his head like he was watching a tennis match on high speed.

"You broke Ezekiel. You_ broke_ him. My brother. You _broke_ my brother." Cas suddenly looked livid. He reached into the right pocket of trench coat and pulled out a small silver chain with a pendant on it. He threw it at Tammy who fumbled for a moment before catching it. Looking down at it she was shocked at first by just pure beauty. It was a thin, silver chain with a tiny bottle attached to it, looking more like a container for glitter than anything else. But what really intrigued Tammy was what it held. Inside the small bottle was a pure, dazzling white powder, shining faintly purple in the right light. Every single individual tiny fleck of white shone like a tiny galaxy in a bottle. She held it tightly in her palm, the bottle barely the size of the upper of her thumb. She was captivated until she felt Sam leaning over her shoulder, trying to get a better look at the small thrown object. As she moved her arms over to her left so Sam could see better she detached her gaze from the small bottle and looked up at Castiel, a question already on her lips.

"What is this?" She voiced, determined not to turn her eyes back on it for fear she would never be able to turn away.

"It is Grace. It is rightfully yours." He revealed. Sam looked perplexed.

"How is Grace hers? She's definitely no angel, no offence Tammy." He smiled down at her before turning back to Cas expectantly.

"It was Ezekiel's." Castiel explained. Sam just looked more confused at this statement but Cas had already turned his attention back to Tammy. "You really did cherish him. That is the only reason I am allowing you to live." He could barely restrain his fury. At his words Sam attempted to stand in front of Tammy to protect her from view but Tammy pushed past him.

"Who Cas? Who are you talking about?" she uttered. She wanted to know as it wasn't just a secret about someone random now, it was about herself. Cas looked her with boiling anger. When he spoke he surprised Tammy with just how calm he was.

"When he was sent to protect you he knew nothing but your responsibility. But then he met you and you changed him. He met you and loved you as nothing else. He returned to heaven and argued with his superiors for you. He _fell_ for you. To be with you. Everything about you, he cherished. And you were disrespectful enough to let yourself be broken when he left you. Did you not know how much he loved you! That is his Grace. He _ripped_ out his Grace for you. Do you know how much that hurt him? It hurt like nothing else._ Nothing _else! He fell for you, so he could hold you. He disobeyed every order for you. And all you could give him were doubt and tears. You should be _ashamed_." He spat, his words soaked is pure hatred. He looked at her like she was less than dirt on the sole of his shoe. She hated that look. She had seen it before when her mother had kicked her out. It still haunted her. _It isn't even the anger that stings_, thought Tammy, _it's the disappointment. _Tammy flinched at his stressed word; each one ripping a new hole in the armour she thought was bulletproof. Castiel hadn't said who it was but she already knew even before he yelled the name. She knew, because there was only one person she knew loved her enough to hurt themselves like that.

"VINCENT!" Castiel screamed, his husky voice echoing the anger already in her head.

"He was an angel?" Tammy asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Do you even miss him?" Cas knew the answer; he had seen every thought inside of her head up until yesterday. He knew how much she missed Ezekiel with every fibre of her being.

"Miss him? _Miss_ him? You have no idea. I would sell my soul just to see him again!" Tammy roared.

"I believe I can help with that." A reply came from the unlikely source of a man with a British accent more rough than Tammy's, a black suit with a red rose in his breast pocket and a smile, who had suddenly appeared a cars length behind Castiel. Tammy gaped and Sam's eyes narrowed.

"_Crowley_." Sam muttered darkly. The man merely chuckled.

"Good to see you moose." He inclined his head in the direction of Sam.

"I should never have let you out." Sam snarled but Crowley grinned.

"And I should have been more careful. Kitten, how are you?" Crowley turned his attention to Castiel who let his angel blade slide into his palm.

"_Crowley_." Echoed Cas.

"Not the most articulate duo, are they monkey?" Crowley now had his eye focused on Tammy, who this time let Sam stand in front of her, shielding her from view. "No matter. Tell me, where are Squirrel and Lover-Boy? Crowley began again to Sam.

"Dean and Bobby are inside." Sam willingly gave this information, knowing that if Crowley wanted them dead, they would be already.

"I wasn't talking about Bobby, although I do miss those lips." He raised an eyebrow. "No I'm interested in Dallas now, what with his... _interesting_ relationship with monkey." Tammy felt a surge of hatred for the new man.

"What do you want Crowley?" Sam attempted to turn Crowley's attention back from Tammy.

"To make a deal. Cousin Vinnie for monkey's soul. It's a steal!" Crowley lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. Then Tammy's world went black.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**In You Debt**

"_**Courage is not an absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." – James Neil Hollingworth**_

"Tamarin. TAMARIN! C'mon, this isn't funny." Tammy was dully aware of strong hands shaking her shoulders. Sam huffed in exasperation before shaking her again, this time more harshly. To the sudden aching on her right side she became aware and hesitantly opened her eyes, expecting harsh light- like that day in the hospital –to flood into her sight and momentarily blind her. Instead the dark filled her senses like a retched weed in a once beautiful rose garden. Clawing into the dark recesses of her mind she felt an unnatural chill come over her body and sat up suddenly, causing Sam to jump, reminding him of the numerous time he had seen a monster rise in a similar was from their coffin. Tammy breath quickened as she saw the cave they were now seated in echoed Sam's words like a broken record.

"Damn." Tammy whistled, unsure of what else to do. Although she knew this wasn't really the time for jokes she couldn't help but grin at Sam's brief bitch-face when she spooked him. Sam gave her a helping hand up to her feet before grumbling angrily when his head hit the roof of the cave. He gave a shuddering sigh as he rubbed the back of his head in pain. Tammy for a moment relished how short she was in comparison, glad that she wouldn't have a problem with her head banging against the stalactite splattered ceiling. A moment of panic flashed across Tammy's features as her eyes met the rather large stalactite above her head, and she took a small step to her left, as to avoid the threat of being impaled. As she moved she felt as though someone thrust a knife in the right side of her waist. She almost fell to her knees in pain but then Sam's arms were around her, holding her up and in place. She took a few moments to regain her breath before she checked her side, seeing a blood stained white shirt tied around her by the arms, the main body of the shirt over the new wound. She looked lost as she grabbed onto Sam's forearm for support, then seeing it was his shirt wrapped around her side, his bare chest now inches from Tammy. The pair blushed and Tammy made a motion to move but again was caught by Sam before she fell to the cold ground. Instead she gently lowered herself to the ground and took in how bad the wound was. It was deep but seemed clean enough. Sam coughed awkwardly.

"You were in a really bad way. You lost a lot of blood but I fixed you up best I can for now, keep the shirt." He smirked as he pulled out a secondary T-shirt from the backpack beside him.

"What, you just carry round spare shirts with you wherever you go?" Tammy was almost in awe of how prepared Sam was. It was kinda... weird.

"No, this bag just appeared next to you. I thought it would have a bomb or something in but no, it's full of water, food, spare clothes and medical supplies." He admitted, poking around in the bag as he did so.

"Medical supplies?" Tammy wondered why Sam hadn't fixed her up properly yet. Sam looked embarrassed by his actions.

"Yeah, well, erm. The cut is in kind of an awkward place and I didn't think you'd want me to... see that much of you." He tried to keep a straight face but his expression twisted into one of grimace.

"Oh... Thanks, for that." Tammy blushed and cleared her throat loudly. "So, erm, where are we anyway?" She looked around the moss covered walls and the gentle green light streaming in from the mouth of the cave.

"No clue." He huffed. "Some cave. Looks like earth, if that's any consolation. Outside is a forest but I didn't want to go too far, what with you bleeding so badly." He looked closely at the rock wall of the cave as he spoke, as if trying to uncover some secret message in the rock itself.

"Wait, it _looks _like earth? You mean we might be on freaking Jupiter or something?" Tammy looked incredulous.

"No Jupiter is really, really cold. We would be dead by now if it was Jupiter." Sam was deadly serious and Tammy couldn't help but laugh. She stood uncertainly and looked in the suspicious rucksack. Pulling out some bandages she instructed Sam to turn away while she removed her shirt and tied the bandage around her waist tightly. She took some aspirin that was also in the bag and swung the bag onto her back, heading for the cave entrance. "Hey, no. You should stay here, rest up a bit. I'll go scout it out." Ordered Sam as he pulled the rucksack from her and overtook her stride, preventing her from leaving.

"Whatever that Crowley son of a bitch was he just zapped us in the middle of a forest, how long do you really think it's going to be before he gets to Dallas? And Dean and Bobby?" she added as an afterthought. Sam seemed to contemplate this for a few moments before throwing up his hands in exasperation and leading Tammy outside. Outside was different. At a first glance it seemed idyllic. The greens of the forest were vibrant and each individual leaf shone like an emerald. The dirt was even, and was soft underfoot. But upon closer inspection it became obvious that something was very wrong. There were no birds chirping or small creatures. No insects either. There was no cool breeze to provide relief from the blistering sun. And Tammy began to grow worried when she noticed the scent of copper, much different to the earthy, wooden tones you'd expect. Sam tensed up immediately when a piercing scream rang through the forest. Suddenly Tammy was in motion. She wasn't sure how but she was already far enough away that Sam had to shout to be heard. She didn't care how far she had to run; she only knew she had to get to the scream. She ran and ran and ran until she couldn't anymore, desperate to help it. Help_ him. Dallas. _Sam was at her side and yanked her arm harshly, forcing her to a standstill. She couldn't believe it, why would he stop her? She had to get to Dallas! Then Sam's hands were either side of her head. At first she was confused but began to realise that with his hands over her ears she couldn't hear the screams anymore. She thought clearly now that her mind was devoid of blood curdling screams. Seeing pain flash over Sam's features, Tammy realised he could still hear the screams, of who she didn't know. She pulled up her arms and covered his ears best she could and they stood there for an immeasurable time until a tap was felt on Tammy's shoulder. Turning around she first realised that the screams had stopped. Then she felt joy. Joy like nothing else. Dallas was only 10 feet away, unharmed and smiling childishly; puzzled by the way Sam and Tammy were huddled together. Tammy tore from Sam and raced over to Dallas, ready to fling her arms around him when he disappeared in a flash of smoke when she was just about to reach him. Tammy stood motionless for a few moments before backing up slowly, reaching a hand out for Sam to direct her backwards, not taking her eye off the spot Dallas had just disappeared from. Sam gripped the backpack and pulled her back again. They just stared at the curious spot until their eyes burnt dry.

"I don't think this place is all it seems." Tammy muttered, eyes practically popping, still trying to get the cogs in her brain to comprehend the information in front of her. Slowly but surely her senses returned and she looked around. Tammy could almost feel Sam's rising panic. _Too many bad memories of your reality being fucked _with_ will do that to you, I guess. _She turned to face him and fought the urge to run, catching a brief glimpse of the horror that must lie behind his eyes. He coughed loudly and then reached to re-tie his shoelace. Instead he reached into his sock and pulled out a small concealed blade. He grabbed Tammy's arm and sliced her palm with it, getting a cry of pain from Tammy, before doing the same to himself.

"Sam! I'm no demon, I thought we'd cleared that up!" she shouted. He just smirked as the tied a bandage tightly around her palm.

"It's a little trick Dean taught me. Any time you're not sure if something is real, you press the cut. The pain sort of snaps you back to reality." He sighed, recalling the memory of the visions of Lucifer. That was a long time ago now, but the memories of The Devil keeping him awake at night with megaphones and firecrackers still seemed all too real for Sam.

"Oh, cool. Some warning next time maybe though? I've already had Dallas do the same to me once today..." Her voice quietened as she finished though. Talking of Dallas already brought a sad mood into her thoughts. She gulped and then began walking again. Sam caught up with her quickly and held her back with a hand to her elbow.

"Wait, we don't even know where we're headed yet. Where's the sun anyway? At least then we'd know if we were headed north or..." He suddenly stopped, seeing a figure a fair distance away, standing between the trees like he was part of the scenery.

"Sam?" Tammy prompted but Sam held up a finger to silence her, pointing to the mysterious figure. At this sight she gasped. Sam was shocked too. He didn't like how reminiscent this all was of his short time in Purgatory.

"Here's what you do. You stay here, don't move an inch, no matter what." He began inching ever closer to the shape.

"And you?" Tammy asked, growing ever more concerned with the figures humanoid shape.

"Just wait here. And close your eyes." Sam turned and repositioned the blade in his grasp. Tammy quietly rushed to him and grabbed his arm, holding him back. He turned with a look of sheer terror before relaxing when he saw it was only Tammy.

"You can't just go and gut it! It could be human. Or it could resist the blade or something." Tammy hissed. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Well what else do you suggest? In case you hadn't noticed we're kind of tight on options right now!" He began towards the figure again. Tammy bit her lip and whispered warning to Sam that it was her to prevent any accidents with the knife in his shaking fingers form happening as she grabbed his arm again.

"How're your reflexes? And how good are you at... sneaking?" she risked. Sam looked between her and the figure a few times before snapping round to Tammy.

"What do you mean? My reflexes? Well they're good, real good. Bit faster than Bobby maybe, but that's expected. Cas is faster I think but I could give Dean a run for his money. Dallas, probably the same. And I'm next to ninja."He smirked. "Why?" Tammy grinned at the new information.

"I'll go up to it." Sam was about to protest but she held up a hand to silence him. "No wait. Listen. I'll go up to it and you'll flank it. I'll see if it's human and if he turns sour you can come at him from behind." Tammy winced at her poor choice of words. Sam studied her face for a moment before a strict nod. "Wait for my signal." She gestured for him to loop around and he did slowly. Then she stood facing the curious being blocking their path. She took a deep breath to steady herself. The dry twigs and leaves cracked unpleasantly underfoot as Tammy approached slowly. Now closer to the figure she could see a clear outline of him, as well as his clothes. He was facing away from Tammy, shoulders hunched and hands in his pockets. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood up and tracksuit bottoms too. His wide shoulders gave away that he was clearly a man but he didn't respond to Tammy loudening footfalls. When Tammy stood about 10 ft from him she cleared her throat. Her eyes glanced to where Sam was hiding behind a number of shrubs and then took a hesitant step to the man.

"Hello. Who are you? Are your hurt? Do you need help?" she began but quietened as it reared its hooded head and began to turn. At the sight of the scabbing skin and the peeling lips, the sunken red eyes and the length of its repulsive teeth Tammy stumbled backwards as it took an exaggerated step towards her. Suddenly Sam was behind it, blade glinting dangerously in the now dimming sun. But this... _thing_ was fast. It whipped around and grabbed Sam's raised left arm, twisting it and relishing the violent sound of _crack_ and Sam's howl of pain. Tammy was soon in motion and gripped the knife, thrusting it into the unprotected back of the creature. As it fell to the ground Tammy tried to ignore the memories of the same occurrence, also having to save a Winchester, she rushed forward to meet Sam who was still hanging onto his arm in agony. She grabbed the backpack off of her back and reached for some pain killers and water. Slipping two pills into his mouth followed by a drink of water Tammy briefly zoned out. _I have to make the decision. For them. Dammit. Dammit Sam, I won't let you die. I won't do that to your family, _Tammy concluded.

For Tammy had made this decision before. Not exactly but similar enough that it still hurt. She remembered staring into her mirrored image on the aeroplane on the way over to America from England. After her mother had kicked her out and she had agreed to leave with Vince, Tammy was a wreck. She had stared at her reflection, scared by what she saw. She didn't see herself, she saw some chick running away with a stranger. So she had looked into her own eyes and asked herself a question. _Him or me? _To many people this would seem a strange question but to Tammy it made perfect sense._ Stay strong for him or try to take care of me, by letting other people see how bad it hurt and letting them help me. _Tammy had decided it was better not to bottle up her feelings; to let everyone see how badly leaving hurt her. But now Tammy was making a very different call. She knew she was being a bit dramatic, I mean c'mon; it was just a broken arm, but still Tammy knew she would stay strong and keep all the shit behind a mask of confidence. She took a deep breath and took Sam's arm gently straightening it out, cringing as his sequels of pain as she did so. Running her hand down his covered arm she could feel the misplaced bone and it must have shown on her face because Sam let out a defeated yelp. Tammy pulled back an expression of utter relaxation and reached into the backpack for a bandage and gingerly tied his arm in as makeshift sling. She smiled apologetically and he winced and pulled away, surveying his arm with interest.

"How do you know how to tie such a perfect sling from half a bandage?" he laughed half-heartedly. He wiped his eyes to quickly hide the tears forming there from the pain. Tammy almost didn't notice. _Almost_.

"I'm awesome." She shrugged, throwing the backpack back onto herself and beginning off again. Sam followed willingly.

"Where ever we are I don't like it. If that Crowley character zapped us here then he can zap anything here. He could zap a freaking evil rhino here for all we know. Ok that might be a bit dramatic but you never know. And who the hell is that Ezekiel dude? Vince was great but he was no angel, trust me. Vince was... He was..." She reached up to her cheek and pulled her hand back experimentally to see the clear liquid now on her fingertip. _Am I crying?_ She thought in disgust. Sam saw her reaction to her own words and quickly began backtracking.

"So... You and Dallas, huh?" he grinned through the decreasing pain in his left arm. Tammy's expression was suddenly one of innocence.

"What do you mean?" she half smiled.

"I mean c'mon. Dallas is a... a..." Sam searched for the right words, not wanting to give a negative impression of Dallas on her.

"Bit of a ladies' man?" she finished with a flash of a grin. Sam looked around awkwardly.

"Yes, kind of. He reminds me of Dean sometimes, he's so... confident. Even when he's being an idiot. But he seems... I dunno, different with you. Like he wants to keep you." Sam tried. Tammy looked pained for a moment before a smirk replaced the worry.

"Listen, no one gets to 'keep' me, I'm no one's to start off with. Someone wants me, they gotta earn me." Sam laughed at this and Tammy relaxed for a moment, knowing the conversation had taken a slightly happier tone. "Anyway Dallas isn't my boyfriend or whatever. He saved my life, I saved his, its like tennis, all the back and forth life saving. Dallas and I are friends, and so what if that comes with the added benefit of him having a great ass?" She grinned stupidly, even when she felt the slight blush creeping onto her cheeks at the words she'd said. Sam laughed for a few more moments before he toned it down to a grin. Tammy couldn't help but keep the grin on her own face. After a few minutes of trekking through the forest another topic quickly came to the forefront of Tammy's thought.

"So... Your brother and an angel... That's gotta be... interesting." She laughed. Tammy wasn't homophobic even in the slightest but to have a relative who was with an angel must be strange. _Sam must have some pretty great earplugs_, Tammy thought darkly. Briefly she thought of how Dean flirted but decided that was just his character, after all Tammy had met men who flirted like there was no tomorrow, yet had been happily married for 20 years and were 99% loyalty, 1% smut.

"What!? Dean and Cas... No, Dean and Cas aren't together." Sam almost keeled over with laughter at this point. Tammy felt stupid for jumping to conclusions especially when memories of Dean picking up that porn magazine made themselves apparent.

"Oh, right. O-okay, I just thought, what with the whole rushing to Cas rescue mode Dean went into when Cas appeared on the coach. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions." To Tammy's dismay Sam only laughed harder.

"Ha, no, they're in love alright. That's obvious from the eye-fucking. But don't tell Dean I said that. He'd feel stupid and feel the need to prove he's straight by going to a strip club or something stupid." Sam smiled fondly.

"What you don't like strip clubs?" Tammy asked. She had figured Sam was straight.

"What? No, they're fun and all but that's more Dean's thing. Wait, you do?" Sam asked disbelieving. He had worried he had offended her by presuming Tammy and Dallas were together.

"Only when they're male dancers." She shrugged. Sam laughed. He couldn't help noticing that he'd been laughing a lot lately. Maybe it was hunting again. After all that had happened over the last few years it felt good to get to a relatively simple routine of just hunting with Dean again. But then Tammy and Dallas showed, bringing with them a new wave of crap. Sam wasn't angry at them for it, he just enjoyed the simplicity of having Bobby only a phone call away, and having Cas in the sky and having Dean join him on hunts. They continued in silence for a while but soon they grew weary of the dark sky. They rested their backs to a particularly large tree and relished the moment of peaceful bliss. Tammy turned her face to the sky only to feel hollow when she saw not one single star. _Damn light pollution_ she registered angrily before it dawned on her how truly cut off they were. In a whole other dimension where not even the stars could reach them they were trapped like rats in a maze.

"I'll take first watch if you'd like." Sam looked sympathetic as she yawned.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Now get some sleep." He commanded. She grinned before laying her head back and propping her side on the backpack. Sam smiled as she was already asleep.

"Nice try darling. But no rest for the wicked." Suddenly Crowley's crisp British accent was right beside him, whispering into his ear. Turning with knife in hand Sam wasn't surprised to see no physical form there; he'd grown used to Crowley's antics by now. Tammy began lashing out in her sleep and Sam didn't even bother trying to calm her. Instead he shook her awake and for a moment he got a glimpse of a scared little girl awaking in a dark forest before her composure came over her again and she stood, doing her best to drag Sam onto his feet with her. Now both standing they squinted to see a figure in a black suit begin to come towards them.

"Crowley." Sam muttered calmly. Crowley raised his hands in defence.

"Now there Moose, I'm not here to fight you. I need a word with young Tamarin here actually." He brushed down his suit. Tammy laughed.

"Me? Why?" She demanded with a slight joking tone. Crowley merely raised his eyebrows.

"An offer. I am here to make you an offer. Didn't you wonder where you are and how you got here? Well I, you little twit, am the King and you are nothing but a peasant. Far, far below my pay-grade but I figured what the kingdom I rule and here I am. About to give you some friendly advice." Crowley began circling the pair, and they moved with him, always keeping the demon in their line of sight. Tammy snorted in response.

"Some friendly advice? Yeah and what's in it for you?" Sam insisted. Crowley chuckled darkly.

"That detail is of little importance right now. What does matter is how much you miss squirrel. That's right. For a limited time only Tammy can help out me and get the whole gang back together. Dean, Bobby, Cassie, Dallas. All the Backstreet boys under one roof. Fair." He finished. Tammy considered this.

"And in return?" Tammy requested. Crowley smirked cruelly.

"Your soul." He said simply. To both the men's surprise Tammy laughed.

"C'mon. My soul? Isn't that a little... cliché?" She sighed. "I'll be honest. I was expecting some creativity. It's just... it's just sad." She scratched at her nails nonchalantly.

"Is that a 'yes'?" Crowley looked excited briefly.

"No, that's a 'you must think me an idiot'." Tammy took a step towards Crowley. "Now where the hell are we?" Crowley looked angry for a moment before snapping his fingers and disappearing without a trace. "What it something I said?" Tammy muttered absently. What they didn't know is that in a week's time they would be begging for Crowley to come back.


	5. Chapter 5

_Heya. Yeah, sorry my posting being very erratic lately. I do try to get a regular week space in between uploads but I usually fail spectacularly at that so yeah. This chapter took such a long time to write. You see I don't have a set plan to where my story is going, I just sort of go with the flow. But this chapter didn't flow for me. I don't particular like this chapter but oh well. A review would be much appreciated but I'm not one to push; if you don't want to review then don't. Anyway, without further ado, I present to you... Ch5!_

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**Chapter 5**

**Bedside Manner**

"_**He to whom emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed" – Albert Einstein**_

**2 Weeks Later**

That deliciously sweet dream flashed through Tammy's brain like a speeding bullet once again, ricocheting against the inside of her skull, each fragment scratching at her will and creating a new fantasy for her to dream in. One with no pain, no panic. A world with nothing. And it was so simple. Just a slash of a knife or the tying of a knot. The only thing that kept her going was her promise to Dean. The promise he wasn't even aware existed but that steered all of Tammy's decisions. To not let go of Sam, to keep him alive. The problem was... He wasn't far from it. On the third day in this God-Forsaken land he was ravaged by a huge feral dog-like creature. His waist took most of the most of the damage but some of the slices slithered their way up his chest. That was the most scared Tammy had ever been. She put his arm over her shoulder and half carried him until she was struck by a familiar sight. The cave they had originally had awoken in was just ahead. Not waiting to wonder she dragged Sam- who was slipping in and out of consciousness –inside. What terrified Tammy was just how helpless she really was. She had no hope of healing him so she just tied a tight bandage around him. It had kept him together but didn't stop it from becoming infected. Tammy mentally kicked herself; she should have known to clean the wound. Every morning since she would go out and get what little food there was out there in the wood. Most days it was just some stray berries, half an apple each if they were lucky. She gave Sam the most. Not that he could stop her; he was too weak to disagree. Then he would sleep and she would get some more food for dinner. She would always fight for what little food was out there. From strange humanoids like that of their first day to huge creatures she could be crushed by in an instant, she fought them all. Today was like any other. She woke up early and checked on Sam. His fever was back and he was burning up. Tammy sighed. _Fuck_. She put the water bottle and the two remaining aspirin beside him and began the day. Outside there was no change, it was still just as disgustingly beautiful as any other day. She found a few blackberries- which she hated but were better than nothing –and then began heading back. The problem was this could all be better in a minute. All she would have to do would be to give up her soul. But she knew Sam would never forgive himself. She smiled to herself. At first there might have been a little bit of chemistry between them but now he was just like her little brother. She knew he saw her as a sister; it was just how it was. And she liked that. She liked having someone to care for like family. As the cave came into focus she stopped momentarily. Something was wrong. She wasn't sure how she knew; she just had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was very, very wrong. She pulled out her dagger and began speeding to the cave mouth, desperate to get to Sam.

"Sammy?" a strangled cry erupted from her as she entered the makeshift home. Three backs greeted her. A tan trench coat, a leather jacket and a blue hoodie with an eagle on the back. They turned around simultaneously to the sound of her entrance. She repositioned the dagger in her hand but made no move towards the trio. Only when a cough came from an unresponsive Sam at their feet did she respond.

"Get away from him, you bastards!" she demanded, acid in her words. Dallas flinched but took a measured step towards her anyway.

"Tammy?" he looked unsure. Tammy couldn't believe it. It was so obviously her. Yes her face was marred by dirt and such and her clothes were ragged and blood smothered but she was still the same girl. How could _he _not recognize her? Tammy stopped herself. It wasn't Dallas she reminded herself. It was just another demon fooling her into thinking her was right beside her. Dallas' form was their favourite when appearing to her. Closely followed by Dean, Bobby and Cas. And then once or twice even Vince appeared to her. She took in the sight of her through squinting eyes. It wasn't him, it couldn't be him. "You're okay!" he cheered. He rushed forward to hug her but Tammy was easily ready. She took a step forward to meet him before grabbing his left arm and flipped him, the breath rushing out of him as his back came into contact with the ground. Then she pounced on him, her blade at his throat. "Tammy?" he choked out again. There were tears in his eyes and Tammy couldn't help but think he looked like he had failed. Like he was too late. But late for what Tammy didn't know. She snarled as the Cas took a deliberate step towards Sam. Dean placed a warning hand on Cas' shoulder, stopping him from getting any closer to the unconscious man. At her distracted gaze Dallas managed to flip her, now holding her body under his. He grabbed her wrists and held them at either side of her head. She couldn't move a muscle.

"What kind of sick joke is this?" She growled.

"Cas, holy water, salt and silver knife, now!" Dean commanded. In an instant the angel disappeared and reappeared holding a silver flask, a silver knife and a tube of salt. Taking the items from Cas' hands Dean preformed each test on a furious Tammy. To her surprise he then repeated the tests on himself, and Dallas. He was about to repeat the tests on Cas when he shook his head. Of course the silver dagger would have no effect on him. He sighed and turned to Tammy. "Convinced?" Dean asked.

"A trick!" Tammy spat, still struggling under Dallas' weight. Dean rolled his eyes and then turned, holding out the dagger still and lowering himself to where Sam slept.

"No!" She screeched at the top of her lungs. Dean froze for a brief moment before reaching out a hand to Sam's forehead. Desperate, Tammy did the only thing she could.

"My soul! You can have my soul! You sons'a'bitches can have my soul. Just don't hurt him... Please." She began as a shout but ended in a low whisper. Dallas was momentarily stunned.

"Why would we want your soul?" He questioned. Tammy looked briefly confused. Using all of her power she could muster she threw Dallas off her and scrambled onto him. Much to the man's surprise she then flung her arms around his neck and buried her head in his neck.

"Dallas?" She tried her voice barely more than a whisper.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, honey." He grinned into her blonde hair. After a few more moments Sam let out a wheezy cough, still very much unconscious and oblivious to the world. At this sound she jumped off Dallas and raced over to Sam's side. She placed a hand against his forehead to check his temperature but only to begin panicking when she felt just how warm he was. She looked around the cave the cave in desperation, when her eyes landed on the trench coat clad angel.

"Castiel... Castiel please, he's sick and I don't know what to do and you've got to heal him. Please." She begged. Castiel's shoulders sagged slightly but his stony expression remained the same.

"I cannot. You put a drain on my powers. Just being in your presence prevents me from healing." He admitted sadly.

"How far away would I have to be?" She questioned. Cas' brow furrowed.

"Just a hundred yards should do it..." He was about to continue but suddenly Tammy was on her feet and was racing out of the mouth of the cave. She ran as fast as she possibly could, until she couldn't run anymore. Once she had caught her breath she paced for a few moments when suddenly a flutter of wings was heard from behind her.

"Is it done? Is he okay?" She was frantic. She _needed_ Sam to get better.

"He is still un-well however is now conscious and stable." His news calmed Tammy. She took a deep breath as Castiel gripped her shoulder and she was suddenly transported to the cave again. As Cas and Dean began tending to a disgruntled but awake Sam Tammy sat on the cold floor of the other side of the small cave.

"Good to see you in the land of the living again. You had me worried there for a while man." She grinned. Sam grinned back sleepily. Tammy laughed. It was good to see him awake again.

"So..." Dallas lowered his voice so only she could hear as he took a seat beside Tammy, "You and Sam?" He looked slightly agitated but still Tammy laughed, being reminded of when Sam had asked the same question about her and Dallas.

"Dude... Please, no. Just... no. That's sick!" She giggled at his slightly relived expression. Then his face showed utter confusion.

"But you're willing to throw away your soul for him? Tammy, even you have gotta know that's a bad idea." He scalded. Tammy pulled her arms around herself against the noticeable cold. Dallas briefly considered wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He decided against it as he knew that if she had been trapped here for 2 weeks she'd be jumpy and probably break his arm on principle.

"Ha. Yeah..." Tammy sighed and rubbed up and down her arms. They sat in silence for a few more moments as they watched Castiel place two fingers on Sam's head and Sam's eyes flutter closed.

"He is asleep now. He will awake shortly." Cas stood and began walking to the front of the cave. Dean sat down beside Sam and watched him like a hawk. Tammy yawned, having had too much emotional stress for one day.

"Sammy's a good kid. He's strong. Needs a haircut..." She remarked absently looking at her ripped and bloodied clothing. At her words Dean rushed over to her and wrenched her onto her feet before pulling into a big bear hug. All the air was knocked from Tammy's body and within a few seconds she was desperately pushing him away from her, but he wouldn't budge.

"Thank you... For taking care of Sam." He sighed before releasing her. She stumbled for a moment before she regained her balance and stood up straight.

"Not a problem." She muttered breathlessly. At that Cas returned to where they were stood and held out a silver chain with a glittering jar pendant on it. Vince's grace.

"You dropped this when Crowley brought you here. I hadn't had an appropriate chance to explain." Tammy nodded at Castiel's words. She took the necklace from his hand and held it up to the sunlight. It was just as beautiful as she had remembered it. With slightly shaking fingers she slipped it on around her neck. At once it began to glow more noticeably like a dying star. A ghost of a smile lit her lips as she stuffed it down the front of her shirt, hiding it from view. Although she didn't fully understand what it was she felt it was private, only for her eyes to see. Everyone's eyes were then on her, showing only pity. Her expression hardened.

"Good. Now Cas, can you zap us home or something?" She broke the awkward silence on her own. _Never wait for a man to make the first move_ she reminded herself. Just as he began to talk she interrupted him. "And what the hell took you so long anyways?" She demanded. Cas shifted his feet uncomfortably and both Dean and Dallas shot him accusing looks.

"Crowley is very thorough... He cloaked this place well. I had a lot of trouble locating it. I apologise." He finished. Tammy smirked.

"Well then it's a good job you're cute. Now beam me up Scotty." She grinned as she gathered up the supplies around the cave and shoved them into the backpack.

"I do not..." Cas begun but was cut off by Dallas.

"It's a Star Trek reference Cas." He explained dully. At once Castiel's features cleared. At the knowledge that Cas had never seen Star Trek Tammy was for a moment frozen with an incredulous look on her face before continuing to stuff random items into the back pack. Once it was thrown on her back she stood up straight to catch Dallas watching her with a smile. He looked away quickly once he knew she had caught him. She couldn't help but grin. They sat around a while later when Sam woke up. Tammy flicked his ear in an attempt to get him awake faster. He shoved her off and rolled over, about to fall asleep again.

"Oh no you don't." Tammy muttered, smirking childishly. She hopped up and ran over to Cas. She put a hand on his shoulder and leaned towards him. He stepped back suddenly; in the time he was human he had become much more aware of personal space and knew that it wasn't usual for someone to be this close. She rolled her eyes and gestured for him to come closer. Once he stepped forward she whispered into his ear something much too low to be heard by the others. He pulled away and narrowed his eyes at her. She just grinned encouragingly. Cas then disappeared suddenly, before appearing again just as quickly with a pair of silver scissors in his hand. He handed them to Tammy who practically squealed with delight. Taking them she then ran back over to where Sam was trying to return to dream land. She snipped at the air menacingly in front of him before muttering gently, "Sammy, I'm gonna give you a haaaaaaircut!" She laughed, drawing out the word to deliberately catch his attention. At her words he hesitantly opened an eye to then leap back and shout a string of insults at her angrily, ruffling his hair experimentally to check his locks were still intact. At this sight Tammy keeled over and gripped her sides, tears of laughter stream down her cheeks as Sam continued to swear at her. Dean and Dallas both struggled to contain their chuckles too. Cas just stood there, as unchanged as ever. It made Tammy a bit un-nerved but at the same time relived. At least this way she knew he would do what is best overall, not being bias towards anyone or anything. Reassured that his hair, unlike his dignity, was still intact Sam rose from where he had been sleeping and looked around the cave.

"How long was I out?" He asked as he scratched his head in thought.

"You got bitten around ten days ago and you've been waking up and passing out since." Tammy said simply. She could tell from his expression that Sam was in low spirits. As she stood up beside him she punched him in the shoulder. "Hey hey now, turn that frown upside down! I'm still here. And if that ain't a blessing, I don't know what is." She grinned. He mirrored it weakly. Dallas clapped his hands together and turned to Cas.

"You think you can take us to a motel?" He asked. Tammy burst out laughing.

"Cas, at least make him buy you dinner first!" She chuckled. Dallas did his best bitch-face. Sure, it was nothing near Sam's level but it was an ok bitch-face. Castiel's brow furrowed.

"As an angel I do not eat." He clarified. Tammy giggled.

"Nah Cas, I know. It was a joke." She grinned at his naivety.

"Anyway..." Dallas continued awkwardly. "Something tells me you two," He turned to Tammy and Sam, "Are sick of sleeping in some cave. How about we treat you to a 2-star for the night?" He tried. It wasn't much of an offer but it beat the cold of the cave.

"Hey, add 'Casa Erotica' and I'm there!" Tammy grinned.

Tammy let out a soft moan as she launched herself onto the motel bed. The dusty mattress creaked and groaned as Tammy straightened her pillow and lay back on top of the covers. She threw her hands behind her head and sighed contently. Dallas grinned as he looked around the kitchen area. He grabbed a beer and sat on the edge of the other twin bed. After a few sips he cleared his throat loudly. Tammy opened an eyelid to see him lazily.

"What... happened?" Dallas queried. Tammy gulped and closed her eyes again.

"I don't wanna... I'm tired. Maybe later." Her voice was thick with sleep but still managed to make Dallas' determination waver. But he brushed it off, he had to know.

"No Tammy. We have to do this now." He dragged his fingers down his face. Reluctantly Tammy turned. Dallas could already see the anger in her blue eyes.

"I don't _have_ to do anything! I was just thrown into some other universe for two weeks and forced to fight for mine and Sam's lives. I have been through enough shit this past week for you and your lousy questions! Now lemme sleep!" she shouted at him. She was momentarily shocked by the hurt in his eyes but decided she was too tired to care. She looked down sadly as he took another swig of his beer. "Hell, I'm sorry. I'm tired, like you have no idea. I haven't had a good night's rest since the first night." She tried at a grin but failed miserably. "Now get some rest before I have to flip you again!" She tried humor, and was happy with Dallas' resulting smile.

"How did you manage to do that anyway? You're tiny!" He laughed. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm not tiny, I'm of average height. It's just you guys are all freakishly tall! Anyway it took me hours of training each day to be able to flip you. I originally practiced with some logs I found. I would balance them upright and then flip those best I could. Then I tried with weak live guys. They were tough and I got a few nasty scratches but it worked. I practice for at least three hours each day. With knives and whatever I can find. I can do a few rolls but I'm hella clumsy so that isn't really my best option in a fight. But I'm not entirely useless anymore. I can fight." She finished, exaggerating her words with her hands. Many people got annoyed by this and mocked her for it but she didn't really care. It kept her hands busy, and that kept her mind busy. Busy enough that she didn't think of Vince or her Mum or when she was going to get her next drink. Lately it had kept her from thinking about that clerk she had stabbed. Being busy was something she had never been good at but now she had training to keep her attention off everything else.

"Cool. I could take you to shoot some cans one day. I mean hand-to-hand combat is really useful but knowing how to shoot is also handy." Dallas suggested. Tammy smiled brightly.

"Awesome." She agreed as she rolled over and rested her head on the strange smelling pillow. She would have usually been disgusted but was just too tired to care. "Wake me up for anything short of an apocalypse and you'll regret it." She warned. Dallas had to laugh at that.

Tammy woke from a dream of blood and shadows. She opened her eyes wearily, half expecting to be back in the cave with a sick Sam and no hope. But instead a motel room surrounded her. The TV was blaring a re-run of 'The Simpsons' much too loudly for Tammy's liking. The walls were beige and peeling. The curtains an ugly mustard. The front door was swung wide open, letting a cool breeze fill the room, counter-acting the heat of a blanket tossed over her. Dallas must have put it over her last night thought Tammy. The clock on the dresser in-between the twin beds read 10:39. Tammy would have been shocked if she wasn't so tired. Debating whether to get up or return to sleep ended when she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Looking around she saw Dallas sitting on the couch, tying up the laces of his boots. When he saw her rise he grinned wolfishly.

"Bed-head." He called playfully. She, very un-gracefully, rolled out of bed and onto the carpeted floor. She groaned and the sheets of the bed rolled off the bed and onto her. Thrashing her legs wildly she tried to disentangle herself from the sheets off. She cursed but eventually gave up and admitted defeat. Dallas wandered over and offered a calloused hand to her feet which she accepted. Once on her feet Tammy straightened her clothes. Then came a knock on the open door. A cheery Dean walked in with a brown paper bag in his hand.

"Bon-appetite!" He announced as he dropped the bag on the table. Tammy raced over and began scoffing the chicken burger within. The two men stared at her incredulously. She shrugged.

"What, a girl gotta eat some time!" She swallowed a mouthful of burger with a smile. Dallas scooped his own burger from the bag, grumbling something about mayonnaise. Tammy didn't much care for the chatter between Dallas and Dean as she savored the rich taste of her burger. After one particularly pleasant bite she let out a low moan of pleasure which stopped both Dean and Dallas, turning their heads towards her. She just looked around awkwardly for a few moments before forcing the food down her throat eagerly. She grinned guiltily. "Burgers, man. Sexy as-"

"Dean!" She was interrupted by Sam bursting through the door. Tammy jumped at the sound of his booming voice; she hadn't heard him raise his voice for risk of injury in a week. Dean turned to his brother with a smile on his face.

"Sammy, you're awake! Here," He pulled a burger from the gab and tossed it to Sam who caught it on instinct, "get some food in ya'."

"No Dean. Listen, it's the-"

"I didn't know whether you wanted mayo on yours or not but I decided to give it you anyway." Dean continued, determined to get his point across. Sam tried again.

"I don't care about mayo. The-"

"What?! That's crazy talk Sammy; you always want to hear about mayo!" Dean grinned. Tammy burst out laughing.

"Now if that isn't an innuendo I don't know what is!"

"Tammy! That's sick, where'd your innocence go?" Joked Dallas.

"Hey, I'm still plenty innocent!" Tammy laughed.

"Yeah, and I'm a drag queen!" Guffawed Dean. Dallas laughed along with him.

"You so have a pink fluffy boa and matching wig in your trunk!" Tammy giggled. Dean threw an arm over his face in mock horror.

"Great, now everyone knows Sam's secret!" He grinned at Sam who was now practically waving his arms before Dean's face in an effort to grab his attention. Still Dean turned away to continue his conversation.

"Don't try and hide behind Sammy!" Voiced Tammy.

"He's big enough! Ha I'm only kidding Sam." Dallas grinned, throwing a glance Sam's way.

"You know Crowley calls him a-"

"THE IMPALA'S MISSING!" Sam screamed over their voices; sick of being drowned out. They all froze at his words. Dean rushed past Sam and flew through the front door into the parking lot outside. They all ran out after him. He was looking around desperately looking for a sign of his beloved.

"Baby! No baby! Sam! Someone has stolen baby, it's the only logical explanation!" He began pacing, pushing a hand through his hair reassuringly. Tammy couldn't help but feel pity for him at the lost look in his eyes. She hoped he was over reacting, and that the Impala didn't cause him so much pain but she got the impression that he was being genuine in his words and gestures.

"Dean calm down." Tried Sam with a pat on Dean's shoulder. Dean shrugged him off.

"You calm down Sam! Dammit. Cas? Cas!" He began shouting to the sky.

"No, man! You are not calling on Cas just for the Impala! He could be busy!" Sam argued. Dean continued to shout the angel's name. "Dean, man. We're getting some pretty weird looks! Sam watched around self consciously. Tammy and Dallas just stood on the edge of the commotion, both feeling equally misplaced. Dean still ignored his brother.

"Cas? Castiel?! Castiel! Get your butt down here, we need you man! Castiel! I need you! Cas-"

"Hello Dean." The trench-coat wearing angel stood behind Dean. Dean whirled around in surprise, his face splitting into a grin before returning to his panicked expression.

"Cas, the Impala is missing!" Dean gripped Cas' shoulders tightly.

"Yes, and? Why did you call on me?" Cas was evidently confused. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I don't think you fully grasp the seriousness of the situation... The. Impala. Is. Gone." He explained.

"Do you mean to tell me you just called me from Heaven where I was desperately trying to secure you and your family's safety because of a car?!" Cas demanded, his words harsher than usual.

"Not just any car, the Impala!" Dean insisted as if Cas had completely missed the point. Cas looked livid. He took one long look into Dean's begging eyes before closing his own, a slight pout on his lips. Dean was about to nudge him after a few moments of stillness but then Castiel's eyes opened and focused on Dean's face.

"The Stanley Auto Garage and Scrap Yard. The Impala is there." Cas concluded. It brought up a dull memory in the back of Tammy's mind, of Vince and her car. She shoved it away for later. Dean grinned and slapped Castiel on the back.

"Man, you're a life-saver. Literally!"

"So I've been told. Now, do you require anything else or can I return to the very important issue at hand?" Cas questioned.

"Sassy sonnova bitch, aren't you? Nah, we got it!" Dean commented. Then Cas was gone. At that Dean clapped his hands together and turned his attention to Dallas who had been previously day-dreaming. "Looks like a road trip!" Dallas rolled his eyes and removed his keys from his pocket.

Sam checked everyone out of the motel and returned to Dallas' much loved car to find Dean and Tammy in the middle of a very heated argument about who should ride shotgun. Sam sighed.

_This is gonna be a long ride_.


	6. Chapter 6

_I know this chapter is dead late, please don't hurt me... But I've been struggling with writers block __severely lately, very sorry. As a result this chapter is really short this time, I am so sorry. Please drop a review to let me know what you think of the story and where you think the story should go. I don't bite (Well, hard)! I love you all dudes and dudettes!_

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**Chapter 6**

**Just because I can**

"_**As for courage and will we cannot measure how much of each lies within us, we can only trust there will be sufficient to carry through trials which may lie ahead." – Andre Norton**_

_Fear of the dark, fear of the dark! _

The radio was tuned on and Iron Maiden was blasting through the speakers, much to Tammy's gratitude. She hummed quietly to the song, tapping her hand on the roof of the car through the open window in time with the music.

_I have a constant fear that something's always near,_

Sam had been growing tired of Dallas' music selection. Instead he flipped from staring out the window to doing research on the open laptop on his knee. Although he couldn't use the internet whilst in motion he was looking through some notes he had made on his laptop.

_Fear of the dark, fear of the dark!_

Dean has lost his battle for territory with Tammy so instead was seated in the back of the car next to Sam. Dean kept on leaning over to look at Sam's computer screen every few minutes and each time he would then grumble for a minute and a half about Sam not even using the laptop for porn to which Sam would roll his eyes and continue on his work.

_I have a phobia that someone's always there!_

Dallas had grown weary of the arguments between his car's occupants. He and Tammy tried to stay out of the sibling rivalry between Sam and Dean in the back seat. It seemed like they argued about everything causing Dallas to turn back angrily multiple times and warn them that he would turn the car around and they would never get the Impala back- which quickly shut Dean up -like a furious parent on a road trip. He had clawed his hand down his face so many times this car trip that Dallas was sure he would soon have long marks down his face. Now he wanted nothing better than to sleep. He had been driving for hours but despite this he didn't trust anyone else with driving his precious. They were almost in Georgia, the home of The Stanley Auto Garage and Scrap Yard where they were headed. Dallas looked over to Tammy and turned down the radio.

"How're you Tammy?" He grinned. Tammy laughed.

"Just dandy. And you?" She replied sarcastically. He rubbed a hand across his stubble.

"No, seriously Tammy." He lowered his voice so only Tammy could hear him. She turned to him, her eyes searching his for a moment before turning back to the window, fiddling with a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I am way too tired to be awake at..." She glanced at her watch, "4 in the fucking morning. I'm hungry and I want nothing more than to go and get drunk in some random bar in some random city in some random state. Oh and somebody," She raised her voice dangerously, "Has been kicking my seat for the last hour and a fucking half!" At once Sam stopped; he hadn't even been aware he had been doing it. "Thank you!" She growled. "Where were we anyway? When Cas zapped you to us?" She clarified.

"Forest of Dean, England." Replied Dallas.

"The forest of Dean?!" Tammy gasped. Dallas nodded dully.

"You know it?" At his question Tammy was swept with tidal waves of loss.

"That's where Vince first proposed to me. I said no. It just didn't seem like the right thing to do, I mean I was drenched with sweat after walking around the forest for hours and Vince was on a stretcher; he twisted his ankle." Seeing Dallas' confused expression Tammy continued, "Oh no, he didn't like fall from a cliff or anything. No, he did it in the parking lot; he always did struggle with my car's door." She muttered thoughtfully. It didn't hurt to think of him so much anymore she found. It was just a dull sensation of longing now. Thankfully Sam broke the silence before she could get too deep into thought.

"I thought we were in purgatory or someplace like that." Piped up Sam. Dallas shook his head.

"Nah, Crowley cordoned off a bit of it and threw a bunch of creeps into it."

"It is kind of ironic." Tammy admitted, glancing at Dean.

"How so?" Grinned Dallas, to which Tammy just rolled her eyes.

"So if we were there, why did it take you guys so long to find us?" She asked. To this Dean became involved in the conversation, attempting to drive off sleep.

"How were we supposed to know Crowley would take you to England? I mean c'mon. I think you're the only one here who has ever been to England. Well up until a while ago. Now you've been to merry old England, 'ey Sammy?" He grinned. From the front seat Tammy huffed. "What?" asked Dean.

"I hadn't realised just how close I was to home." She looked around guiltily before turning the radio back up. Now with the soothing sounds of Metallica, The Four Horsemen filling up the awkward silence Tammy thought about England. She always thought she would recognize the country in an instant if she ever ended up there again. She had always thought she would recognize the air and the sky. But no. She had been right there and she hadn't even noticed. The thought sickened her.

About an hour later they began driving through a small town. As they were tired the decided to go to a motel and rest up, Dean somewhat reluctantly agreeing that the Impala could wait until morning. They got two rooms with two beds in each, Dean and Sam occupying one room and the other being taken by Tammy and Dallas. They didn't get dressed into night clothes; they just headed straight into bed. After removing her trainers and shrugging off her jacket she pulled up the covers around her. Although she felt tired her mind wouldn't shut up as she lay warm and content. The sound of snoring coming from Dallas in the other bed settled her; living with Sam in the cave he would snore and although it originally annoyed her she soon grew used to the reassuring sound as it ensured he was okay and so was she. In the middle of her slumber Tammy was woken in a bright room, much like one a dentist might work in. After stumbling for a few moments she realised she was dreaming. Relaxed now she more closely examined the room to see a chair like a dentist's in the centre of the clinical room. Beside the recliner was a small table with various medical tools on it such as scalpels and drills. The room had no doors or windows but in odd contrast a 'hang in there kitty' poster across from the chair. Observing the bland corners revealed a familiar friend in the opposite corner.

"Now I know this isn't a dream; if it where you'd be shirtless Castiel!" She laughed. As usual Cas remained untouched by her humour.

"You are in a dream state still. Listen to me Tamarin; it is very important that you leave the town you are staying in; taking the Winchesters and Dallas with you." He spoke hurriedly and looked nervous, his eyes scanning around wearily every few moments.

"Whoa, Cas, relax. What's up with you? You look like you just saw a ghost." Once again her joke flew over his head.

"There are no spirits near to my location. You _must _leave the town at once." He insisted, looking more and more intimidated by the second.

"Why? What is it? Cas, man, talk to me." She pleaded. He took a step away from her, backed up against the pristine white wall now.

"There is something after-"

An evil cackle rippled in Tammy's mind as she was pulled into consciousness. She found herself lying in bed just as she had been throughout the strange dream. Her throat was sore and dry and so she reached for the glass of water on the bedside table. Only her arm didn't shift. Confused she tried again desperately but still her body wouldn't obey her commands. Soon she was screaming inside the walls of her own head, being unable to voice her terror.

_My, my, my. You're a slow one. Was expecting you to feel me by now._ A dark voice sounded from inside the walls of her skull. Tammy began to panic; if her body would obey her she would be hyperventilating.

_Calm down, I'm just here for a test run. Just to get attention._ With that the demon brought up Tammy's hands and flexed her long fingers, getting a feel of her body. She stood uncertainly, swaying a bit as she got used to the meat suit. Tammy was screaming against her own skull, scratching and clawing but to no avail. The demon tip toed over to where Dallas slept.

_Oh, God. No! Please don't hurt him! _Begged Tammy to herself. The demon cackled.

_Now why would I do that?_ Answered the demon. She tapped Dallas on the shoulder to which he woke immediately; he was always a light sleeper. He turned startled to where the demon Tammy stood beside his bed, beginning to shake. The demon internally winked.

_Watch this!_ Thought the demon. With that Tammy's stolen body shook more violently and her eyes began to water. Dallas looked at a loss as he gripped her forearm.

"Tammy, honey! What's wrong?" He panicked. Fake-Tammy sniffled.

"A n-nightmare. Oh Dal, it was horrible!" She sat beside him and turned into his shoulder looking for comfort. At first he was surprised before he reached his arms around her shaking shoulders and held her tightly as she wept.

_NO! Dallas it's not me, it's not me! Dallas! _Screamed Tammy still trapped inside of her own skull. The demon internally grinned. _I'm just getting started_ she promised.

"You wanna talk about it?" Asked Dallas, unsure of what else to do.

The demon turned Tammy's red and blotchy face to Dallas.

"It-it was horrible. You were... you were dead and I was crying and I didn't know what to do! I c-can't lose you Dallas! I just can't! Don't ever leave me, never ever leave me. Promise you'll never leave me! Please!" She sobbed. Tammy internally cringed; she knew those words would get a reaction out of Dallas.

"I-I promise Tammy. I ain't going anywhere!" He tried to smile but failed when he saw how miserable Tammy looked. Still she cried and still Dallas felt lost. He looked around desperately with Tammy still held closely against his chest. He looked down at Tammy and gulped. He gently pressed a finger under her chin and raised her head. He looked deep into her eyes and whispered "I'm not going anywhere" Again. He began to lean forward, eyes still locked on Tammy.

_NO! _Tammy's voice resonated inside her head, unable to break through the barrier between her and the outside world.

When their lips met Dallas held her tightly still and their lips mashed together greedily. He didn't know if this was what she wanted but snapping an eye open to see her with their lips still glued together showed her happiness. He smiled into the kiss when he realised just how starved he felt for human contact. It was warm and sweet and she tasted faintly of mint. And something else... Another taste he was all too familiar with... But he recognised it far too late. _Sulphur_. He pulled back quickly to meet her devilish grin as she reached for the lamp on the bedside table and whacked it over his head. His world went blank and he hear Tammy cackling faintly. Then he blacked out.


End file.
